What is Supportive Cancer Care?

Whether you’ve been recently diagnosed, you’re undergoing treatment, or you’re transitioning to survivorship, cancer can be incredibly overwhelming. Having a dedicated supportive care counselor to lean on during this challenging time is essential.

Strong supportive care is a critical piece of quality cancer care.

Supportive care in cancer is the prevention and management of the adverse effects of cancer and its treatment. This type of care focuses on the physical and emotional symptoms and side effects across the cancer experience from diagnosis through treatment to post-treatment care.[1]

While your medical team focuses on diagnosis and treatment, your dedicated Jasper counselor will help you build emotional resilience and remove the everyday barriers of managing cancer.  

Supportive cancer care touches many aspects of your life.

Our programs cover a wide range of supportive services, including:

  • Emotional Support: Helping you cope with stress and emotional challenges.
  • Removing Everyday Barriers: Finding personalized resources so you can focus your energy on recovery: transportation, career and work guidance, and organizations to help in your home or with family obligations. 
  • Nutritional Advice: Offering guidance on healthy eating in line with your treatment and symptom or side effect management. 
  • Financial Guidance: Financial planning strategies and identifying potential financial resources and copay assistance programs. 
  • Preparation for appointments and what to expect: Educating you on what to expect during or after treatment and preparing for upcoming appointments. 

If medical or additional mental health support is needed, your dedicated counselor will guide you in finding the appropriate clinical provider or resource.  

Our dedicated supportive care counselors have diverse backgrounds. All are certified by the American Cancer Society’s Leadership in Oncology Navigation training. 

Our supportive care counselors have a wealth of experience in supportive cancer care, including oncology social work, health and nutrition coaching, case management, and oncology nursing. All of our counselors are certified with The American Cancer Society Leadership in Oncology Navigation training and our program is overseen by Jasper’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Chet Robson, a Family Physician and former Chief Medical Officer of Walgreens Boots Alliance. 

We are flexible. This is your time to process and heal. 

We understand that your needs and priorities for managing cancer will change week to week – some weeks will be busy and stressful attending various appointments and managing symptoms and side effects. Other times, cancer is the last thing you want to be thinking about as you focus on your family, friends, and the rest of your life. Chat or schedule sessions with your supportive care counselor when it works best for you. 

Our care is dynamic. You will be matched with a dedicated counselor for one-on-one support when you join Jasper, but the nature of this support will change from session to session, adapting to your treatment, symptoms, and feelings. For example, one session might focus on managing the stress between scans, while another might address nutritional advice to improve your symptoms. It’s your time, you decide what to focus on. 

Let us help you remove the burden from your family or caregivers.

We hope you have strong support outside your medical team, but even if you do, we know it can be helpful to have a space to process what you’re going through that’s free of any judgment or personal connection. With your supportive care counselor, you can be totally honest and unfiltered as you work through decisions, fears, and uncertainties. Let us help you with those conversations, so you can spend more time with your friends and family, feeling like yourself and focusing on what brings you joy and fulfillment. 

We’re a text or call away to learn more.

The first session is free with no obligation. We’ll match you with a supportive care counselor who’s committed to helping you reclaim a sense of control and resilience. 

[1] Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer

The content on this website is intended to provide the best possible information for you, but should not be considered—or used as a substitute for—medical advice. If you have questions about your diagnosis or treatment, please contact your health care provider(s). For questions or comments about this content, please email us at [email protected].