When a person is diagnosed with cancer, he or she usually receives treatment with one goal in mind: to kill the cancerous cells. PAMF recognizes, however, that a cancer patient is not just a body to treat, but rather a whole person whose emotional health, finances and relationships, as well as other aspects of his or her life, are also challenged by cancer. This is why PAMF is expanding the concept of cancer care from simply treating the disease to treating the entire person – body, mind and spirit.

Along with the most advanced medical care available in the country, PAMF's Cancer Care Clinic offers patients access to a medical social worker, physical therapist, financial counselor and nutritionist, all of whom specialize in the unique needs of cancer patients. These services, which are offered at no cost to patients, were designed with the input of cancer survivors from the communities PAMF serves. The services were created to promote healing by easing the burden of living with cancer.

"Getting a cancer diagnosis is traumatic, and no one should feel alone in dealing with cancer," says Coleen Travers, ACSW, MSW, a medical social worker at PAMF. "No matter where patients are in the continuum of care – from newly diagnosed to cancer survivor – I am part of the team that gets to talk to them about how cancer affects the rest of their life."

One of the special aspects of the cancer care support services is how integrated they are with the treatment and other health services offered at PAMF, such as genetic counseling and patient support groups.

Many patients, for example, have questions about what foods they can or should eat during cancer treatment, says Erica Framsted, M.S., R.D., a registered dietitian at PAMF. "For patients going through treatment, I offer strategies for coping with side effects that make eating difficult, and I can help them make healthy lifestyle changes with dietary and exercise recommendations."

In late 2008, PAMF also became the first major health care organization in its service area to have integrated physical therapy into cancer care. "All stages of cancer impact the body, and physical therapy can help with many of the most common side effects, including edema, fatigue and pain," says Sharon Leslie, P.T., DPT, a physical therapist at PAMF. "Through physical therapy, we can often dramatically improve quality of life."

Visit www.pamf.org/cancercare to learn more about the state-of-the-art, compassionate and comprehensive care PAMF doctors and staff provide to cancer patients.