Patient & Visitor Resources at Providence Cancer Institute of Orange County

Clinical trials allow you to:

• Play a more active role in the selection of your treatment options
• Gain access to new treatments before they are widely available
• Help others by contributing to medical science

Patient safety is the highest priority in clinical trials.

Before a clinical trial begins, it must be approved by several regulatory agencies, such as the FDA and Institutional Review Board (IRB), that promote and oversee the protection of human participants. Also, all clinical trials have specific participation requirements to protect your safety, while still allowing researchers to obtain the necessary information to answer the study’s questions.

You should know as much as possible and feel comfortable asking your care team questions about the trial and the expected level of care you’ll receive. Ask important questions about the type of care, who will deliver that care and how the trial’s care compares to standard treatment as you’re deciding if you want to participate.

An oncology nurse navigator works with the multidisciplinary care teams to provide education, emotional support and resources for newly diagnosed and ongoing cancer patients.

They help patients identify any barriers to care and facilitate complex care coordination during the cancer journey.

The role of a clinical oncology social worker is to get you support and connect you to essential community, state and national resources.

They can answer many questions and provide help in the following areas:

• Connecting you to support groups and special programs
• Coping with a new diagnosis
• Defining goals of care and quality of life issues
• Education about complementary medicine and self-care
• Facilitating communication with family members and providers
• Referral to community resources, such as transportation and financial assistance
• Referral to legal resources and assistance with advanced directives, insurance and disability
• Short-term, one-on-one supportive counseling for you and your loved ones

Our occupational therapists work with you to:

• Identify ways to manage side effects and symptoms
• Improve your sense of well-being
• Maximize your independence

You and your occupational therapist will build a personalized plan through a collaborative process of self-reflection, problem-solving and skill integration into new routines. They can help you:

• Address cancer-related cognitive impairments
• Build a restorative sleep routine and implement healthy relaxation habits
• Develop a strengthening and conditioning routine
• Explore new meaningful work, leisure and social activities
• Implement effective routines to manage stress, anxiety and depression with respect to daily activities
• Learn energy conservation and fatigue management strategies
• Learn methods for managing physical discomfort, pain and peripheral neuropathy
• Learn strategies to complete activities of daily living and use adaptive equipment to overcome physical barriers
• Manage wrist and hand symptoms and dysfunction
• Understand and cope with a new diagnosis

A patient financial navigator can review your care plan and discuss financial resources that may be available for your medical condition or the treatments that you receive.

They can answer many questions and provide help in the following areas:

• Billing questions
• Health financial assistance programs
• Out-of-pocket resources for privately or commercially insured patients
• Out-of-pocket resources for government insured patients
• Questions regarding Medicare and Medi-Cal

Our registered dietitians specialize in oncology nutrition and their services include:

• Information about dietary supplements
• Management of specialized feeding regimens, such as tube feeding and intravenous nutrition
• Management of treatment related side-effects
• Nutritional counseling for cancer prevention and survivorship
• Nutrition education for patients, families, loved ones and the community
• Understanding your changing nutritional needs through all stages and types of treatment including surgery, chemotherapy, immunotherapy and radiation therapy

Maintaining your nutrition is especially important when receiving cancer treatment, but it can also be challenging. Our dieticians are there to help you optimize your nutritional intake and achieve your treatment goals.

Cancer treatments save lives, but they can also result in pain, fatigue and even disability for patients. Feeling well and being able to resume normal day-to-day activities is essential to enjoying a good quality of life for you and your loved ones as you move through the stages of your cancer journey.

The goal of a cancer rehabilitation program is to minimize the side effects of cancer treatment by providing physical, occupational and swallowing therapy through individualized treatment such as:

• Audiology consults for possible chemotherapy-related hearing impairment
• Breast cancer rehabilitation like lymphedema assessment, pre- and post-op exercise and surgical site massage
• Chemo-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) including transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and strengthening and balancing activities to address symptoms of numbness and tingling
• Exercise therapy for weakness, fatigue and decreased balance resulting from cancer surgery, chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy
• Lung cancer therapy that includes exercises to increase endurance and strength, building tolerance to help you resume daily activities
• Lymphedema therapy including manual lymph drainage, bandaging, compression, education and exercise
• Pelvic floor rehabilitation for prostate, colorectal, urological and gynecological cancers to treat incontinence, pelvic pain and core muscle weakness
• Vital stim swallowing therapy that includes gentle electrical stimulation to neck and throat muscles to assist with regaining swallowing function after head and neck surgery

Your oncology nurse navigator, or anyone on your care team, can help you find counseling support services if you or a loved one are experiencing any of the following:

• You feel isolated, alone and unable to speak about your feelings.
• You feel like life is getting out of control.
• You need a safe space to talk as a family.
• You’re consumed and overwhelmed dealing with cancer.
• You’re crying often.
• You’re irritable, easily frustrated or having a difficult time sleeping.
• You’re sad, afraid, scared or anxious.
• You’re struggling to face and manage treatments.
• You’re struggling with the grief of a terminal cancer diagnosis.

Please don’t hesitate to ask about this important emotional support.