The Virginia Cancer Specialists Supportive Cancer Care Team provides physician expert-led personalized care to help patients manage cancer-related pain, symptoms, and side effects of treatment, to enhance quality of life, and improve comfort, energy, and day-to-day functioning. Through individualized care plans, by addressing pain, fatigue, nausea, anxiety, and other symptoms, the Supportive Cancer Care Team helps reduce the burden of symptoms and side effects before they escalate in order that patients maintain their independence.
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Goals of Supportive Cancer Care
Virginia Cancer Specialists’ Supportive Cancer Care Program has 3 key goals:
1. To Offer Holistic Symptom and Side Effect Management and Personalized, Proactive Support
2. To Provide Seamlessly Coordinated Oncology Care
The Supportive Cancer Care Team works in close partnership with each patient’s primary oncology team to ensure patients receive coordinated, comprehensive, seamless support that complements their current medical treatment. Patients have easy access to a team of compassionate experts – palliative care physicians, pain management specialists, social workers, nutritionists, nurse navigators, clinical coordinators, research coordinators, financial counselors, and many others who provide guidance, education, and emotional support every step of the way.
3. To Reduce Emergency Visits and Hospitalization
Through proactive side effect and symptom monitoring and early intervention, supportive care reduces avoidable hospital visits and improves overall treatment adherence. Better treatment adherence leads to better outcomes and peace of mind.
Hallmarks of Our Supportive Cancer Care Program
While the primary goal is to improve quality of life for the patient and family throughout the treatment process, there are various ways in which this can be accomplished:
- Focusing on symptom management, including treating pain, insomnia, anxiety, respiratory and gastrointestinal problems
- Fostering open and honest communication
- Understanding the patient’s hopes and expectations
- Facing the realities of treatment and how it affects one’s life, including finances, employment, and more
- Providing support to caregivers and family
