Supportive care therapies
In addition to delivering sophisticated therapies to treat your cancer, your personalized treatment plan may include supportive care services. Supportive care is designed to help you stay strong, support your immune system, combat side effects and maintain your quality of life.
Nutritional support
Treatment for cancer can cause side effects, including weight loss, fatigue, nausea, diarrhea, constipation, low blood counts and increased risk of infection. These side effects can inhibit your ability to stay nourished and interfere with your treatment.
At City of Hope, a registered dietitian works closely with the other members of your care team. Together, they may suggest supplements and other therapies designed to support healthy digestion and nutrition, and to help you manage side effects.
Pain management
If you have pain, its severity and prevalence may depend on many factors, including the type and stage of cancer, your treatment plan and your tolerance for pain. You may experience pain from the cancer itself, or as a side effect of cancer treatment.
Throughout your treatment, the pain management team is on call 24/7 to help you anticipate and proactively manage cancer-related pain.
We ensure you are comfortable and continually receiving the pain relief you need. We also troubleshoot any side effects of pain medication, such as nausea, drowsiness and constipation. The goal is to find a balance between controlling pain and preserving quality of life.
Naturopathic support
Upon your doctor's recommendation, a naturopathic support provider may suggest strategies to support your metabolism and digestion during cancer treatment and help relieve side effects.
Patients may explore options including herbal and botanical preparations and dietary supplements designed to reduce side effects such as nausea, fatigue or trouble sleeping. Lifestyle counseling may also be available, including smoking cessation and stress management.
Behavioral health
Behavioral health, an important part of integrative cancer care at City of Hope, recognizes the powerful ways in which emotional, mental, social and behavioral factors may directly affect a patient's physical health.
Our licensed mental health and allied health professionals offer caring relationships and therapeutic practices and techniques in an effort to help you and your caregivers respond to a cancer diagnosis and treatment regimen in empowering and stress-reducing ways so you are better able to improve your health, relationships and overall well-being.
Behavioral health can help you manage your pain, nausea, sleep problems and other side effects, so you can better cope during your cancer treatment.
Oncology rehabilitation
Oncology rehabilitation includes a wide range of therapies designed to help you build strength and endurance, regain independence, reduce stress and maintain the energy to participate in daily activities that are important to you. Here are a few of the rehabilitation therapies we offer patients:
- Physical therapy
- Occupational therapy
- Speech and language therapy
- Manual therapy (which may include massage and chiropractic therapies)
- Lymphedema prevention and treatment
- Support programs related to healthy living, weight management and sexual intimacy
Spiritual support
Sometimes, a cancer diagnosis can make you question your faith. Some patients experience feelings of hopelessness, depression, guilt or anger after being diagnosed. Our chaplains provide spiritual support for you and your family to help you cope with the disease and its treatment.
Throughout your cancer treatment, our chaplains are available for visitation, counsel, prayer, patient rights issues and grief and bereavement counseling.
The pastoral care team treats you with great sensitivity and respects your religious background and traditions. If you are more comfortable seeing clergy from your own faith affiliation, we are happy to contact local clergy to meet your specific religious needs.
Survivorship support
Studies have shown that a significant percentage of cancer survivors deal with chronic health problems that may be related to their cancer treatment. At City of Hope, survivorship support services may help you maintain your health and improve your quality of life during and after your head and neck cancer treatment.
We work with you to assess your health and identify potential early, late or long-term effects of treatment. Then, you receive an individualized wellness plan that includes help with managing medications and side effects, as well as nutritional, physical and emotional education and support.
