Non-profit groups are joining together to provide supports and services to cancer patients and survivors in Kamloops.

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Cancer patients in Kamloops will soon have access to a centre that provides supportive care and navigation of all necessary services.

The new centre from the Kamloops Cancer Supportive Care Society is in collaboration with the Royal Inland Hospital Foundation and a non-profit organization called InspireHealth Supportive Cancer Care.

“Our goal is to help people manage their experience and outcomes, and the physical and psycho-social effects many people at all stages of their cancer journeys are coping with,” president of the Kamloops Cancer Supportive Care Society, Leslie Brochu, said. 

The foundation and the society are hosting an information event called Cancer Supportive Care in Kamloops: How to get the help you need on June 21, 2022, and everyone is invited. A panel of experts will discuss the benefits of supportive cancer care and introduce InspireHealth programs and services to cancer patients in the Kamloops area.

“While medical care and treatments are required to fight the disease, things like emotional, dietary, financial and legal supports are needed for patients as well, along with help navigating the systems,” Brochu said. 

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Patients and their support people are welcome to join for free in-person, or online to find out about free and easily accessible supportive cancer care services now available to patients and survivors in Kamloops.

The Kamloops Cancer Supportive Care Society is a made up of those with lived cancer experience and formed two years ago.

“In the past 8 to 10 years there has been a movement around supportive care and how valuable it is for the cancer experience,” Brochu said. “We are advocating for a building and looking to provide patient navigation to help people navigate services all over the community.”

Brochu said supportive care services are in different levels of development across the country. In some places patients can be assigned a navigator to help them, but this is not available yet in the province. Navigators are typically nurses or social workers with oncology experience and the society is working with the RIH Foundation to develop the patient navigation service.

“Our vision is to supply navigators from a central location,” she said. “When you are sick you need to be a researcher to find all the other stuff you need to manage. Patients are not well and must deal with things like legal and financial matters, filing taxes because they have maybe been in a bed, or councillors or nutritionists, the list goes on and on.”

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A partner in the venture, InspireHealth Supportive Cancer Care, is a non-profit agency that provides virtual services where patients can get an appointment with a doctor, councillor or dietician. Part of the long-term plan is to have InspireHealth move into Kamloops to provide onsite services as well.

They currently have locations in Kelowna, Vancouver and Victoria.

“We aim to raise awareness of the services available right now for cancer patients and their families living in Kamloops and nearby communities,” Brochu said. “These services can make a fundamental difference in the life and outcomes of a cancer patient and are at no cost to the patient.”

You can donate at RIH Foundation where there is a special fund for supportive cancer care or donate to InspireHealth Supportive Cancer Care and any money from Kamloops will be redirected to the Kamloops branch. 

The RIH Foundation website is temporarily unavailable.

For more information or to register for the event click here.

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