The past nine months have seen nearly 350 St. Vincent Healthcare cancer patients having their battle with the disease eased by a patient navigator.

The American Cancer Society's Sarah Rachac joined St. Vincent Healthcare in February in an effort to serve as a personal guide to patients and their families as they face the many challenges that come with cancer.

Teri Noland was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer in January and started working with Rachac soon after. Her tumor started out at 11 centimeters, and is now down to three centimeters.

Noland says she is thankful for the hospital's family-like atmosphere.

"Here I really feel like I have a cancer family. This is the best Thanksgiving I'll ever have, is this year, that I'm here, I'm feeling good, I'm going to share it with my loved ones.  I'm very thankful."

"I think, you know, just a little extra support at the onsite of the diagnosis including, you know, here's some questions to ask your doctor, here's some financial resources in case it gets hard, here's where you can go for some extra support" Rachac explained. "And the nice thing about this position is I have access to resources all over the country."

Come early December, Noland will undergo another round of chemotherapy that will then put her into remission.