Cancer care cannot be reduced to treatment alone. Indeed, side effects can appear very early and cause physical and psychological disorders. This is why, throughout the illness, patients need additional and personalized support.
For around thirty years, Supportive Oncological Care (SOS) has offered a holistic approach to the person. We take stock with Corinne Lanoye, general coordinator at the High Energy Center (CHE) in Nice.
What are we talking regarding?
The National Cancer Institute (INCa) has established a basket of nine supportive care (read box). This support is offered to a person suffering from a cancerous pathology but also to relatives and caregivers – in addition to specific treatments intended to treat their illness such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy and surgery. “Because despite continued improvements in anti-cancer treatments, patients still experience side effects with a negative effect on quality of life,” completes Corinne Lanoye.
From psychology to dietetics, including social care or physical activity… a team of professionals specialized in very different fields put their skills at the disposal of patients and help them to cope with this difficult period.
What benefits?
Supportive care is an integral part of the care pathway because it allows you to heal as best as possible. “They reduce the consequences of illness and treatments and thus improve quality of life.” And to add that in the fight to overcome illness, there is a strong impact between the body and the mind. “If a person mobilizes their resources, feels helped and supported, they are able to cope better with treatment. “
When can the patient use it?
The needs analysis can be carried out from the consultation when the illness is announced, during and following treatment. Often, the meeting with the psychologist represents the gateway to other supportive care. “Throughout breast cancer treatment, significant body image disturbances are observed in the patient, explains Corinne Roustan, psycho-oncologist from the CHE in Nice. They provoke a questioning of one’s psychological, bodily and sexual identity. The attack on bodily integrity by the tumor (foreign body), the scar (lumpectomy or mastectomy), or hair loss, leads to an identity crisis. It’s a real trauma. Mitigating the psychological impact of these changes helps improve the perception of the resulting new body image.”
A basket of 9 supportive treatments
On the basis of a report from the National Cancer Institute (INCa) of October 2016, the General Directorate of Care Supply (DGOS) defined a basket of 9 supportive care which must be accessible and guaranteed to all.
1 Pain management
2 Dietary and nutritional support
3 Psychological support
4 Social, family and professional support (return to employment, professional reintegration, return to school for children and adolescents)
5 Physical activity
6 Healthy lifestyle tips (especially smoking cessation)
7 Psychological support for loved ones and caregivers
8 Support for implementing fertility preservation
9 Management of sexual disorders
Photobiomodulation used at CHE
At the High Energy Center (CHE) in Nice, photobiomodulation (1) is used as supportive care by Professor René-Jean Bensadoun, oncologist-radiotherapist and manager of the CHE. “This treatment consists of the application of red or infrared light to the skin and mucous membranes affected by radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy treatments. Painless, this technique limits the appearance, effectively relieves side effects and helps with healing.”
Thus, in cases of breast cancer, photobiomodulation can significantly reduce skin redness caused by radiotherapy. This method is also very effective in limiting peripheral nerve damage (neuropathy) which can appear during chemotherapy.
1. This method is also used as supportive care at DESSCO (Department of Supportive and Complementary Care in Oncology) in Nice.
