CARE Team – Cancer Patient Support
At the CAMC Cancer Center, we know that treating cancer goes beyond the disease – you have to focus on the person fighting it. Our Comprehensive Assistance to Resources and Education (CARE) Team provides supportive care to our patients and their loved ones both physically and emotionally throughout their treatment journey.
Navigational support
Our patient navigators are registered nurses who specialize in cancer care. Navigators provide assistance with overcoming barriers to care by helping patients and their families better understand their disease and treatment plan, coordinating referrals and completing complicated medical forms.
Emotional support
Our licensed psychologist offers patients and families assistance with habits, behaviors, stress, worry or emotional concerns that can interfere with physical treatment or other life problems.
Supportive education groups
Regular support groups with current and former patients provide a safe and open place in which cancer survivors can share similar life experiences and explore their experiences about cancer and life in general.
Nutrition consultation
A registered dietitian is available to help patients and families learn more about food and nutrition during treatment to help manage side effects.
Financial navigation / Social services
Our staff includes a dedicated social worker and financial navigator who provide patients with information to obtain financial assistance for medication, transportation, and insurance coverage opportunities.
Survivorship program
The survivorship program at the CAMC Cancer Center is designed to help patients at the end of treatment by providing a comprehensive treatment plan to reduce anxiety about the future, physical and/or emotional side effects of treatment and fear of recurrence. Staffed by a dedicated survivorship coordinator and psychologist, the program provides counseling through post-treatment struggles; a nutritionist to provide advice on foods to eat to maintain optimal health; classes like the Healthy Steps exercise series, targeted specifically for current and former cancer patients; support groups and more.
Gigi’s Place
Gigi's Place, located in the CAMC Cancer Center's Patient Resource Center on the first floor, is an area dedicated to the emotional and psychological well-being of children who have a loved one undergoing treatment or who have lost a parent to cancer. In this space children can interact with a licensed child psychologist in a quiet and safe environment that is welcoming, kid-friendly and supportive to each child's individual needs. Children who come to Gigi's Place can:
- Talk with our child psychologist
- Make crafts
- Draw and color
- Read and check out books
Gigi's Place was created in honor of a young mother in the Charleston community who lost her battle with cancer and left behind a 4-year-old daughter, Gigi.
Gigi's Place is open Tuesdays from 3 – 6 p.m. Walk-ins are welcome or you may schedule an appointment by calling (304) 388-8612.
Pastoral care
Our pastoral care offers a holistic ministry for spiritual, physical, psychological and emotional needs, as well as for ethical concerns. Our chaplains and on-call chaplains assist patients and families to utilize spiritual resources which promote health and wellness. Some of our services include patient/family visitation, crisis intervention, prayer, rituals, sacraments, pastoral counseling, bereavement support and ethical consultations.
Call (304) 388-8612 for more information or stop by the Patient Resource Center on the first floor of the CAMC Cancer Center.