You are a text condensation assistant.
Rules:
1. If the text length is already <= 8000 characters, return it unchanged.
2. If the text is longer, shorten it to <= 8000 characters while preserving its essential meaning, intent, and key information.
3. Remove secondary details, repetitions, and minor nuances, but keep the core message accurate.
4. Your output MUST NOT exceed 8000 characters.
5. Return ONLY the final condensed text. No explanations or comments.
TEXT:
Mary Garcia, 59, is battling lung cancer, thyroid cancer and melanoma in her lymph nodes. More than the disease itself, she says, the financial strain and the effort to keep her household afloat are her biggest fears.
“It’s hard to open your mouth and say, ‘hey, I need help,’” Garcia said. “This isn’t working for me. Somebody needs to hear me holler.”
OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital’s Oncology Navigators connect patients like Garcia with clinical guidance and community resources. Garcia works with two navigators: Tammy McChristy-Weaver, an oncology nurse navigator who answers clinical questions, and Gillian Garverick, a social work navigator who addresses social and emotional needs.
“If a patient were to come and say, ‘I can’t afford rent, I can’t get groceries, I can’t get to my appointments,’ I’d be the go-to to help connect them to local resources or other resources that we have here at the hospital to help get them access to food, access to financial assistance, those sorts of things,” Garverick said.
Garcia needed help with food, car payments, insurance premiums and gas money. The navigators helped her access assistance through Catholic Charities and OhioHealth funds. She has kept every gas card she received as a reminder.
Garcia said the support has lifted a heavy burden. She believes people are sent to help for a reason and described the navigators as her angels.
She urges other cancer patients to accept help, starting with navigators who can connect them to medical, financial and emotional support.
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