While oncology physicians struggle with cancer, Supportive Care physicians struggle with physical or psychological distress caused by the person’s disease or treatment of the disease.
What is supportive care in cancer treatment?
Supportive care is the evaluation and management of the adverse effects of cancer or its treatment. This includes managing physical and psychological symptoms and side effects throughout the cancer journey, from diagnosis to treatment and post-treatment care. These side effects can be short-term, long-term or even life-long.
This situation not only poses a problem for the individual, but can also affect the treatment process. If problems arise, an individual’s cancer treatment may be delayed, changed (e.g., reducing the dose), or stopped altogether, all of which may lead to worse outcomes. Supportive care aims to improve the quality of rehabilitation, prevention of secondary cancer, survival and end-of-life care. Supportive care makes excellent cancer treatment possible.
Who can seek supportive care?
Any patient who has been diagnosed with cancer, is undergoing treatment, or has completed treatment can seek supportive care if they are experiencing physical or psychological distress.
What can I expect from supportive care?
Symptom management: Treatment of one or more symptoms such as pain, fatigue, constipation, weight loss, weakness, shortness of breath, and difficulty sleeping, as well as mental or emotional symptoms such as confusion, depression, and anxiety.
Supportive counseling: Supportive care physicians communicate openly and compassionately. Psychiatrists, psychologists and dietitians participate in the treatment and support care team when necessary.
Advance care planning: Offers help to patients and their families when they want more information on dealing with issues surrounding disease progression, as the outcomes of treatment can be unpredictable. Our goal is to help make informed preparations.
Strong support at all stages of the disease: Whether patients are receiving treatment or focusing on improving the quality of balance in their lives, the symptom management and supportive care team offers important physical and emotional support to patients and their families. Offers assistance with the transition from an outpatient setting to home care services or a palliative care service.
Is there a good time to seek supportive care?
Patients can apply to the supportive care clinic whenever they want. The National Cancer Survivorship Coalition and the American Cancer Society recommend that patients be referred to supportive care when diagnosed with cancer and that this care be incorporated into all phases of treatment, including curative care. This approach is called comprehensive maintenance or concurrent maintenance.*
Is supportive care the same as palliative care?
No, it’s not the same. As Supportive Care, we provide outpatient treatment services to both the patient and their relatives from the moment the patients are first diagnosed. We continue to provide care as Palliative Care when the disease of the patients is very advanced.
American Cancer Society Guidelines for Cancer Survivors