Today marks the launch of Together for Supportive Cancer Care, a national coalition that will work to expand early, equitable access to whole-person, supportive care for all people with cancer, regardless of where they receive care.
Convened by The Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation, the coalition brings together organizations from across sectors to amplify current efforts, share best practices and identify new solutions to make supportive cancer care the national standard for cancer care.
Representing more than 40 organizations, including patient advocacy groups, cancer care providers, policy experts, pharmaceutical companies, employers and insurers, the coalition represents a broad cross-section of the cancer care ecosystem.
Supportive cancer care is a comprehensive, whole-person approach to care that ensures the needs of people with cancer and their caregivers are met at every step of their cancer journey—throughout diagnosis, treatment and survivorship.
Supportive cancer care is individually tailored to provide a person with physical, emotional, spiritual, community, decision-making, social and economic support. A growing body of evidence shows that supportive cancer care improves patient treatment outcomes and quality of life, while providing higher-value care and lowering long-term health care costs. However, the benefits of supportive care are not currently accessible to everyone with cancer.
“For decades, leaders around our country have worked to show the promise and impact of supportive care programs for people living with cancer, their caregivers and their loved ones,” said Audrey Haberman, chief executive officer of The Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation.
“The launch of Together for Supportive Cancer Care builds on this work and is an important step toward creating a health care system where early and ongoing access to supportive care is not a privilege, but a fundamental part of the cancer journey for everyone. By uniting organizations from across sectors with a shared commitment to health equity, we can shape a future where supportive cancer care is the national standard.”
Coalition members will be working collaboratively across three focus areas of policy, research and employer support. The coalition’s workstreams will specifically work to achieve the following:
- Advocate for state and federal policies that expand access to supportive cancer care.
- Promote new and existing research to demonstrate the positive impact of supportive care on outcomes, quality of life and health care costs.
- Engage employers as advocates for expanding equitable access to supportive cancer care.
“As cancer diagnoses rise in the United States, supportive cancer care is critical to improving outcomes,” said Andrew T. Leitner, M.D., chair of the Department of Supportive Care Medicine at City of Hope®, a national cancer research and treatment organization. “This coalition provides a platform to advance initiatives that ensure all patients receive the comprehensive care they need, from the day of diagnosis. By building on achievements in policy, scaling successful models and practices and empowering employers, we can work to expand access to the care that people need and deserve, improving lives across the country.”
By uniting cross-sector voices and expertise, the coalition is uniquely positioned to transform the cancer landscape and ensure that patients, caregivers and health care systems alike benefit from a whole-person approach to treatment and care.
Members of the coalition include AC Care Alliance, American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, American Cancer Society, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, Asian Health and Service Center, Association of Cancer Care Centers, Association of Oncology Social Work, Black Women’s Health Imperative, Cancer Support Community, Center to Advance Palliative Care, City of Hope, Coalition to Transform Advanced Care, Compassion and Choices, Crossroads4Hope, Dempsey Center, Family Reach, Geisinger, Georgia Center for Oncology Research and Education, Goals of Care Coalition of New Jersey, Healing Works Foundation.
Also Highmark Health, Huntsman Cancer Institute, Kaiser Permanente, MD Anderson, National Alliance for Care at Home, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, National Association of Community Health Workers, National Coalition of Cancer Survivorship, National Comprehensive Cancer Network, National Minority Quality Forum, One Family Foundation, Providence, Purchaser Business Group on Health, Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation and TFA Analytics. The coalition also has support from policymakers, national employers and pharmaceutical companies.
About Together for Supportive Cancer Care
Together for Supportive Cancer Care is a national coalition of over 40 organizations from across sectors, working collaboratively to ensure early, equitable access to comprehensive care for all people with cancer. Our mission is to improve outcomes and quality of life for people living with cancer and their caregivers by expanding access to supportive cancer care.
