BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Rebecca Peacock still remembers sitting on the couch watching “Armageddon” when her mother told her the unthinkable.

At 17, Rebecca had thyroid cancer.

Seven years later, as Howard County General Hospital’s cancer patient navigator, Peacock relies on her experiences to help guide other cancer patients.

“I get it. I know how important it is that they get hooked up with these resources,” said Peacock, 25.

In the days and months after a cancer diagnosis, patients often must maneuver a web of support groups, doctors appointments and financial-assistance programs. They have to get tests, X-rays and scans, see countless specialists.

Patients often feel isolated and overwhelmed, said Peacock, who also worked with the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults and as an American Cancer Society volunteer.

“This helps them to not only make some sense of what is going on, but also help navigate those difficult next steps,” said Paul Gleichauf, the hospital’s senior vice president of planning and marketing.

The position is part of a three-year pilot program, developed by the American Cancer Society and funded by the society, the Horizon Foundation and the hospital’s foundation.

Gleichauf said he was confident the position would become permanent.

St. Agnes Hospital in Baltimore and St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson also have cancer patient navigators through the American Cancer Society.

“They have been an invaluable asset to our patients,” said Jennifer Broaddus, a social worker at St. Agnes’ cancer center, which has had a navigator position for about 2 1/2 years.

At St. Joseph, Danielle McQuigg started as a navigator in April to provide consistency to patients in the post-diagnosis whirlwind.

“I am the one person who can make sense of it all,” she said.

smichael@baltimoreexaminer.com