you can receive supportive care whenever
The physical and emotional effects of having cancer and going through treatment can
be really different from each person to the next. Supportive care addresses a broad range of issues,
the idea being to integrate the patient’s different needs holistically into their care. Your
supportive care specialist consider the following issues when they create a treatment plan for each
person they provide care for:
Physical care
Common physical symptoms such as pain, fatigue, nausea or vomiting, loss of appetite, shortness of breath
and sleep issues are carefully assessed to ensure your physical comfort is maintained as far as
possible.
Practical care
The supportive care team can also help with managing logistical, financial and legal worries, or things
like insurance questions, any employment concerns that might be worrying you. You’ll discuss the goals
of your care with them too. These are important discussions and can involve talking about advance
directives as well as guiding productive communication among family members, caregivers, and your care
team.
Emotional and coping care
Supportive care specialists are experienced in dealing with the intense emotions that can come up
throughout the cancer journey. They can provide resources to help patients and their loved ones deal
with those emotions too. Depression, fear and anxiety are all common and natural, and they are just some
of the emotional or psychological concerns that supportive care can address.
Spiritual care
Spiritual care refers to any support you might need in relation to worries or questions you have about
life's meaning. It isn’t jsut about formal religious practice, it’s broader than that. The type of
spiritual care a person needs will differ from person to person, depending on individual circumstances,
faith, as well as cultural and social background.