Supportive Cancer Care Improves Outcomes and Lowers Costs. It Should Be the National Standard of Care.

By Sheri Biller

Supportive care is not just a “nice to have.” We often- and rightly- associate cancer care with research and advanced therapies. But these essential pillars of cancer prevention and treatment are only part of what cancer patients need to beat their disease. Equally necessary is early and ongoing access to supportive cancer care that focuses on managing symptoms, mental and emotional wellbeing, and the many impacts of facing cancer.

It is well documented that supportive care, when offered throughout the cancer journey, results in better outcomes and lower costs. But today, too few Americans have access to this kind of whole-person care.

It’s long past time that we set a national standard for what that care includes, where it’s available, and how it’s covered – regardless of where a person is receiving treatment. Nearly every American has been touched by cancer whether as a survivor, a caregiver, or knowing a family member, friend, co-worker or neighbor who fought or is surviving with cancer.

In most cases, patients and caregivers are left to navigate the physical, emotional, and economic tolls of the cancer journey on their own, without systematic support and professional resources. The results can be devastating and lasting, even well into survivorship.

So, we know – or can try to imagine – the fear, stress, and pain a cancer diagnosis exacts. That takes a toll not only on the person receiving treatment, but also on their family and loved ones. Supportive cancer care aims to change that paradigm. It’s a comprehensive, evidence-based approach that covers the entire cancer continuum of diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship. It addresses needs related to physical, emotional, and spiritual health, along with community support and decision-making assistance, as well as addressing economic barriers to accessing care. Importantly, supportive cancer care is individually tailored to each patient’s diagnosis and treatment. It could include pain management, nutrition guidance, therapy, financial counseling, body image support, workplace resources and spiritual support – everything a patient might need to manage their health. Providers – from oncologists to nurses to social workers – also know firsthand that supportive care can help deliver positive outcomes alongside clinical interventions, like chemotherapy or genomic medicine.

City of Hope, which our foundation has supported for over two decades, is one the providers that has proven what’s possible when patients have access to best-in-class, supportive care programs. Supportive cancer care can improve outcomes and reduce costs to our health care system. That includes lowering rates of emergency room and ICU admissions. Yet, for far too many Americans living with cancer, supportive care is still out of reach. That is especially true for the growing number of younger cancer survivors.

If we are going to make real progress in improving survival rates and quality of life for cancer patients and lowering costs to our health care system, supportive cancer care must become part of the standard of care, and available for every cancer patient and their families and caregivers.

So how do we ensure more Americans can benefit from supportive cancer care?

First, we need to bring together experts from all the relevant disciplines and sectors to contribute their expertise and continue to examine the best ways to provide effective and personalized supportive care. To help accelerate that process, last year our foundation helped convene a new national coalition, Together for Supportive Cancer Care. It brings together providers, policy experts, survivors, payers, philanthropy, large employers, and biopharmaceutical innovators with a mission to establish supportive cancer care as the national standard for cancer care.

Second, because it is an essential piece of a cancer patient’s care and integral to positive outcomes, we must ensure that supportive care in all its elements is a covered benefit. That must be the case both in private policies and Medicare and Medicaid. Our federal and state policymakers have an opportunity to forge true bipartisan progress that improves lives and reduces health care costs.

Finally, we must educate providers about how to explain supportive care and when to offer it, and we must educate patients from all walks of life about supportive care, so they ask about it.

With more people facing a cancer diagnosis than ever, and more advanced treatments than ever, America has the potential to have many more cancer survivors. If you live longer, with a better quality of life and healthcare costs are lower without denying access, who wouldn’t agree that Supportive Care is the right solution?

 

Sheri Biller is the Co-Founder of The Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation and the former Board Chair of City of Hope, one of the largest and most advanced cancer organizations in the country, with its National Medical Center ranked top five in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. This article was original posted on Modern Healthcare on June 9, 2025.