Supportive Care

While supportive care is appropriate at any time during a serious illness, the biggest benefits have been shown in patients who begin care early. An early start to supportive care can result in patients living longer with a higher quality of life.

Supportive care is not the same as hospice care, but if hospice care is needed (typically when a patient’s prognosis is estimated to be six months), supportive care can help with that transition as well.

Is Supportive Care Right for Me?

Supportive care helps manage symptoms like:

  • Pain
  • Shortness of breath
  • Fatigue
  • Nausea
  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Constipation
  • Loss of appetite
  • Trouble sleeping

Supportive care can help with side effects from cancer treatments like chemotherapy and radiation.

Who Provides It?

Our team of supportive care doctors, advanced practice providers, and nurses, will help you optimize your quality of life.

Works as part of your Care Team

The supportive care team works in partnership with your other doctors to provide an extra layer of support for you and your family. The team provides expert symptom management, extra time for communication about your goals and treatment options, help navigate the health system, and talk to you about your long-term health plan and advanced care planning.

Where It’s Offered

Please bring your current med list with you as well as any advanced directives. Our supportive care team is currently available in our Rogers, Fayetteville, and Springdale clinics. 

Insurance Coverage

Most insurance plans, including Medicare and Medicaid, cover supportive care.

Grief Resources

Navigating the journey of grief is a deeply personal experience, but you do not have to walk it alone. To support our community, Highlands Oncology has curated a collection of trusted resources designed to provide comfort, guidance, and practical tools for healing. From insightful literature for adults and age-appropriate books for children and teens to specialized websites and support networks, these resources are here to help you and your family honor your emotions and find a path forward at your own pace.

Book Recommendations

Adults

    • The Understanding Your Grief Journal: Exploring the Ten Essential Touchstones by Alan Wolfelt
    • Grief Recovery Handbook by John W. James & Russell Friedman
    • Journey with Grief: A collection of articles about love, life, and loss
    • Widow To Widow: Thoughtful, Practical Ideas For Rebuilding Your Life by Genevieve Davis Ginsberg
    • The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
    • It’s OK That You’re Not OK by Megan Devine: Debunks traditional ideas of “moving on” and offers tools for living with loss.
    • On Grief and Grieving by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross & David Kessler
    • Living with Grief: Mindful meditations and self-care strategies for navigating loss by Heather Stang
    • Grief One Day at a Time: 365 Meditations to Help You Heal After Loss by Alan Wolfelt
    • How to Go on Living When Someone You Love Dies by Therese A. Rando
    • Motherless Daughters: The legacy of loss by Hope Edelman
    • Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
    • A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis
    • Experiencing Grief by H. Norman Wright
    • Journeying through Grief by Kenneth C. Haugk

Kids/Teens

    • The Fall of Freddie the Leaf by Leo Buscaglia
    • The Memory Box: A Book about Grief by Joanna Rowland
    • Gentle Willow: A story for children about dying by Joyce C. Mills
    • Healing Children’s Grief: Surviving a parent’s death from cancer by Grace Christ
    • Healing Your Grieving Heart for Teens: 100 Practical ideas by Alan Wolfelt (Has accompanying Journal as well)
    • It Won’t Ever be the Same: A teen’s guide to grief and grieving by Korie Leigh
    • Why Do I Feel So Sad? A Grief Book for Children by Tracy Lambert-Prater
    • When Someone Dies: A children’s mindful how-to guide on grief and loss by Andrea Dorn

Websites with Helpful Information and Resources