WALKING THE JOURNEY WITH YOU

Oncology Patient Educator • Patient Advocate • Nurse Navigator • Clinical Yoga Therapist • Health & Wellness Educator/Coach

I offer this work from both professional experience and personal experience.

In my mid-20s, I experienced my own cancer journey. I know what it is like to suddenly find yourself on the other side of healthcare trying to understand a diagnosis, make decisions, navigate treatment, and find your way through a system that can sometimes feel like a maze.

That experience changed the direction of my life. It gave me a deep understanding of how important it is to be informed, educated, heard, and supported when facing cancer.

Over the past 30 years, I have continued to build my experience in healthcare, oncology, patient education, care coordination, advocacy, health and wellness, movement, breathwork, and clinical yoga therapy.

I am a licensed nurse, I have worked in outpatient and in patient cancer clinics, Med / Hem and Radiation Oncology as Nurse Navigator for Souther and Northern California Hospitals, Founded a Cancer Patient Assistance Program for Guam and Program Director for Patient Advocacy and Navigation ( Guam Cancer Care ) Patient Educator, Certified Patient Advocate through the Harold Freeman Institute, Certified Clinical Yoga Therapist, and Health & Wellness Educator/Coach.

I bring these experiences together to offer something very personal:

Someone who understands the healthcare system—and someone who understands what it feels like to be the patient.

HELPING YOU NAVIGATE THE MAZE

Cancer care can be overwhelming. From screening and diagnosis to testing, specialists, treatment decisions, referrals, insurance, medications, travel, off-island care, recovery, and survivorship, there can be so many pieces to understand and coordinate. And sometimes there are gaps. A gap in communication. A gap in understanding. A gap between providers. A gap in accessing resources. Or simply a gap in having someone who can help you understand what happens next.

My role is to help you identify those gaps, organize the information, ask the right questions, and better understand the path ahead. I don't make medical decisions for you, and I don't replace your healthcare providers. I help you become more informed and prepared to participate in your own care.

FROM DIAGNOSIS TO SURVIVORSHIP

I offer private, individualized support throughout the cancer journey, including:

  • Patient education and healthcare navigation

  • Understanding and organizing medical information

  • Preparing questions for physicians and specialists

  • Helping identify gaps in communication and coordination

  • Supporting communication with your healthcare team

  • Coordinating local, inter-island, and off-island care

  • Navigating referrals, records, appointments, and transitions

  • Identifying healthcare, community, and supportive resources

  • Medication copay and financial-assistance resource navigation

  • Support with travel and temporary relocation for treatment

  • Recovery and survivorship support

My goal is to help you move from confusion and overwhelm toward greater clarity, knowledge, and confidence.

SUPPORTING THE WHOLE PERSON

My experience has also taught me that a person is more than their diagnosis. Cancer treatment and recovery can affect strength, mobility, breathing, energy, sleep, stress, confidence, and everyday life.

As a Certified Clinical Yoga Therapist and Health & Wellness Educator/Coach, I can also offer individualized whole-person support that may incorporate:

  • Movement and mobility

  • Strength and functional conditioning

  • Breathwork

  • Relaxation and recovery practices

  • Clinical yoga therapy

  • Body awareness

  • Safe, adaptive movement

  • Support for rebuilding strength and confidence

  • Health and wellness education

  • Lifestyle and self-care support

  • Survivorship wellness

  • Diet, Nutrition, Lifestyle

These practices are designed to complement medical care, not replace it. When appropriate, I collaborate with the patient's multidisciplinary healthcare team so that movement, breath, and wellness support can be considered within the larger picture of care.

WHY THIS WORK IS PERSONAL TO ME

I know the questions that come with a cancer diagnosis because I have lived them. I also know healthcare from decades of professional experience. That combination has shaped how I advocate for others. I understand that sometimes you don't know what you don't know. You may not know what questions to ask. You may not know what resources exist. You may not recognize that there is a gap in your care coordination. And when you are already emotionally overwhelmed, it can be difficult to stop, organize everything, and figure out where to begin. That's where I can help. I can help you understand the information in front of you, prepare for conversations with your healthcare providers, organize your care, identify resources, and navigate the many steps between diagnosis and survivorship.

MY APPROACH

I believe good advocacy begins with listening, education, and informed choice. I don't tell you what medical decision to make. I help you become informed enough to have meaningful conversations with the professionals responsible for your medical care. I respect the expertise of your physicians, nurses, therapists, specialists, and other healthcare professionals. My role is to help bring the pieces together while keeping you and your goals at the center.

FROM SOMEONE WHO HAS WALKED THE ROAD

My cancer journey became part of my purpose. Thirty years later, I continue to use the knowledge and experience I have gained to support others who are walking a road I know can feel uncertain, complicated, and overwhelming. You deserve to understand your diagnosis. You deserve to understand your options. You deserve to know what questions to ask. You deserve to recognize when something may be missing. You deserve an advocate. And you deserve support for the whole person—not simply the disease. I offer my experience, knowledge, advocacy, education, and compassion to help you navigate the maze from diagnosis to survivorship.

Christina Martini

Licensed Nurse • Oncology Nurse Navigator • Patient Educator • Certified Patient Advocate, Harold Freeman Institute • Certified Clinical Yoga Therapist • Health & Wellness Educator/Coach

30+ Years of Healthcare, Oncology, Advocacy & Whole-Person Wellness Experience

  • YOU NEED A PATIENT ADVOCATE IF YOU:

    • are overwhelmed  navigating the healthcare system for you or your loved one

    • live far from family and need help accessing healthcare locally

    • have a chronic condition and a lengthy and complex medical history

    • need help learning about your cancer or diagnosis

    • need help to find a specialist or second opinion

    • are curious about participating in clinical trials

    • are considering end of life questions and would benefit from a facilitator to help you discuss your values with your loved ones

    • need care coordination of your appointments, and  transportation to appointments

    Christina Martini is an independent patient advocate , certified patient navigator through Harold Freeman Patient Navigator Institute who works for YOU rather than for an insurer or healthcare provider, eliminating potential conflicts of interest.  

    A patient advocate can serve as your single point of contact as you interact with a variety of healthcare professionals and facilities.

    No two patients are alike.  I work just for you and your unique needs. Patient advocates are your health care allies.

    Patient advocates DO NOT provide medical or legal services, and DO NOT take the place of your existing healthcare or law providers.

    Patient advocates simply help you to navigate these relationships by working with you AND your providers to achieve the very best outcomes possible.

  • I will prepare you to ask the right questions, at the right time, of the right providers.

    I’ll help direct you to specialists and second opinions, set up and coordinate visits, and help you digest what you learn. Help you to understand clearly the details of your diagnoses, medications, procedures, and plan of care , treatments and therapies.

    There’s a vast amount of information out there, and not all is reliable. I will help you sort through it for you and present it to you objectively so that you can make informed decisions.

    I’ll help you with medical literature to find both standard of care and potential research protocols that you can bring to your medical team.

    I can help you find possible clinical trials, provide documentation for your doctor, and help you get set up for studies. If the study you and your doctor are interested in is not local, I’ll contact the study team to see what resources are available for lodging and travel.

    I will help you with your organizing your healthcare data, help you to collect your medical records from all of your providers from as far back as we can retrieve data, so that you will have a single place for all of your records electronically or on paper as you wish.

    I’ll help you think through your Health Care Advance Directive, something every adult should have no matter their health status. 

  • Christina’s fees depend on your needs and situation. For most cases, your first fee is likely to be between $500-$750 which includes a complete history and review of your need for an advocate or navigator , plan and strategy discussion.

    The process starts with a free 30-minute introductory call to discuss your need and situation. If you're facing an urgent situation, Christina will call you as soon as possible instead of scheduling an appointment call, and determine how to assist you promptly.

    Except for urgent situations, our next step is an assessment call via FaceTime, zoom, google meet for 1 hr to 2 hr depending on the complexity of the case. If your need is simple, we can solve the issue within the one hour timeframe without an assessment .

    If the case needs to speak with your provider, care coordination, seek resources to access medications, care, treatments, etc., you will need to sign an authorization form and flat fee rate might be best for ongoing need for advocacy and navigation and You can ask questions and discuss concerns , You can always call Christina and reach out via text and email too.

  • Christina takes client privacy and confidentiality respectfully and seriously.

    While private advocates aren’t considered a covered entity in HIPAA law, Christina utilize a HIPAA-compliant email system.

    Christina restricts to the people who require the information (i.e., typically just the client and the advocate).

    All client information will be safely destroyed after three years of disengagement.