About the Supportive and Palliative Care Program at the Orlando Health Cancer Institute

The Supportive & Palliative Care Program at the Orlando Health Cancer Institute offers physical and psychosocial support services to cancer patients, families and caregivers. Always keeping the patient’s well-being at the center of focus, a multidisciplinary team of experts specializing in supportive and palliative medicine delivers compassionate, personalized care. We encourage our patients to request supportive care soon after a cancer diagnosis so that services can be integrated throughout the entire span of a patient’s cancer journey, including curative treatment.

What Is Supportive and Palliative Care?

Supportive Care is a specialized area of medicine that focuses on improving quality of life for patients coping with serious illness — as well as providing support for families — by reducing the physical and emotional burdens. This specialized care incorporates:

Supportive care incorporates

• Symptom Management – Developing a plan of care to improve physical well-being and address any symptom concerns
• Supportive Counseling – Assisting with emotional, spiritual and financial needs, through access to internal or outside resources
• Advance Care Planning – Ensuring a patient’s care goals and wishes are met. This may include completing a healthcare proxy, living will and advance directive.

A common misconception is that palliative care, as part of supportive care, is reserved for patients who are transitioning from curative to end-of-life measures. However, palliative care focuses on providing patients relief from pain and other illness symptoms, no matter the diagnosis or stage, and while still pursuing curative therapy approaches.