Never Walk Alone: How MedStar Health Teams Support the Cancer Journey.

This article was written by Billie J. Baldwin, DSW, LCSW-C, LICSW and Amy Ly, MSW, LICSW.

As cancer treatment has improved over the last few decades, more people than ever are living longer. Thanks to remarkable progress in research, early screenings, and advanced technology, cancer is often a treatable, chronic disease. 

Thanks to these incredible strides, the community of cancer survivors continues to grow. As of 2025, there were an estimated 18.6 million cancer survivors living in the U.S., more than 5% of the population. With more people living longer after a cancer diagnosis, providing comprehensive survivorship and support services is more important than ever before.

Managing a new diagnosis means facing a maze of appointments, terminology, and decisions. Throughout MedStar Health, teams of support professionals work with patients and families to make this complex process as straightforward as possible so they can focus on healing.

Our philosophy at MedStar Health goes far beyond cancer treatment. Here are five ways we care for the whole person, not just the cancer, through our network of support services. 

Emotional and personal support: Oncology social workers.

Oncology social workers serve as dedicated clinical guides and personal advocates in the oncology setting. They help patients navigate referrals, scheduling, and the many appointments and services—surgery, infusion, imaging, palliative care—they’ll need, while staying informed throughout their care. 

Emotional and psychological well-being is directly tied to physical outcomes from cancer treatment. Here, mental health support is a core element of cancer care. Our experts educate family members about behavioral changes that can arise, so they know what to expect and can recognize when to ask for help.

Our support teams coordinate practical referrals to help support daily living for our patients, including:

• Arranging home health aides, skilled nursing care, and short-term respite to support caregivers

• Securing local food resources, clinical grocery programs, and home cleaning services

• Ordering medical equipment and coordinating work leave paperwork with employers

• Connecting families to housing resources

We also provide brief, real-time emotional counseling and crisis intervention during high-stress appointments, and refer patients to outside support networks, therapists, and legal assistance as needed. 

Care coordination: Patient navigator services.

Cancer patient navigators remove logistical roadblocks to help patients attend their scheduled treatments. Missing even one session can impact your care, so we work to smooth the path.

For example, it can be tough to figure out how to get to the hospital several times a week, for many weeks, especially when you’re not feeling well. Patient navigators work with you to arrange transportation, find a safe route, submit paperwork, and communicate with transit providers to troubleshoot delays or conflicts.

Nutrition support: Registered dietitian services.

Oncology registered dietitians focus on helping patients preserve their strength, manage treatment side effects, and optimize their long-term wellness. 

Cancer treatment can suppress the appetite. Our dietitians offer personalized nutrition support, including:

• Detailed clinical nutrition assessments to track needs over time

• Targeted, real-time symptom management for eating barriers such as taste changes and nausea

• Tailored eating plans for nutrition in survivorship 

• Management of nutritional systems, such as tube feeding

• Guidance for lifestyle changes related to food preparation and consumption
  

Flexible payment options: Financial navigator services.

Financial toxicity is the term for the stress caused by medical expenses incurred during cancer treatment. Our financial navigators work to help reduce the burden of financial toxicity for families. 

We also coordinate medication and financial aid resources by leveraging internal and community resources to potentially help lower costs. 

Improving quality of life: Specialized care networks and survivorship.

MedStar Health features a comprehensive cancer rehabilitation network of therapists trained to help patients restore mobility and quality of life during and after cancer therapy. For example:

• Prehabilitation before treatment to teach exercises to protect mobility

• Lymphedema management, including physical care and manual fluid drainage massages to relieve swelling

• Fitting sessions for custom compression garments to reduce swelling

• Targeted cognitive therapy for “chemo brain,” to clear mental fog and regain focus

To build social bonds, we work with regional community alliances and support groups with deep local roots. 

Transitioning out of active treatment brings with it short- and long-term health needs. We provide complete care after therapy ends. The program begins with a consultation to assess symptoms and risks for treatment-related conditions. Our specialists work with you to build a personalized survivorship care plan and work with your primary healthcare team to coordinate your care, including specific preventive screenings and wellness strategies to optimize each patient’s quality of life. 

Related: Read “Research Reveals Ways to Improve Daily Physical Function for Cancer Survivors.”

Family Circle: Supporting the whole team.

At MedStar Georgetown University Hospital and MedStar Washington Hospital Center, our Family Circle Program helps when a parent has cancer, providing no-cost support for patients, caregivers, and children. 

In partnership with the Elizabeth’s Smile foundation, this no-cost program is uniquely designed with wrap-around support for parents, their primary cancer caregivers, and children from birth through age 21. 

Our team provides navigation to connect with community resources and specialized clinical education and counseling. We partner with families to help them confidently navigate difficult conversations about cancer, manage stress, strengthen coping skills, and enhance parenting techniques throughout treatment. 

Care for the whole person.

At MedStar Health, our commitment is simple: We’re dedicated to providing the most advanced cancer treatment while supporting the whole person throughout their care.

Cancer is hard, but being brave doesn’t have to mean going through it alone. We encourage all our patients to reach out for help. Everyone deserves to be fully informed and supported throughout their cancer journey. Talk with your care team during your next visit for an immediate connection to our dedicated support professionals.