Supportive & Holistic Cancer Care

Whole-person supportive care

Supportive care helps with the physical, emotional and practical effects of cancer and its treatment. “Holistic” means attending to the whole person. It does not mean replacing effective cancer treatment with unproven alternatives.

Cancer can bring concerns that are hard to fit into a conversation about scans and treatment. You may be worried about eating, sleeping, managing at home or finding words for how you feel. These concerns belong in the conversation too. Tell your team what is making daily life difficult and what you would most like help with.

You can start with one concern. You do not need to know the name of a service or have every question ready.

Pain and symptom management

Tell the team about pain, feeling sick (nausea), breathlessness, difficulty passing stool (constipation), sleep problems and other symptoms. Assessment can identify treatable causes and the most appropriate support.

You do not have to find the right medical words. Explain when the symptom happens, what has changed, and whether it affects eating, sleeping, walking or washing. This helps the team understand what matters in your day, as well as the symptom itself.

Palliative care focuses on relieving symptoms and improving quality of life. It can be provided alongside active cancer treatment and does not mean giving up.

For urgent concerns, follow your treating team’s urgent-care instructions. Do not wait for a routine appointment or WhatsApp reply when you need urgent medical help.

Planning your venous access

Venous access means a way to give treatment through a vein. If you need repeated fluids, medicines or blood transfusions through a vein (intravenously), your team can help choose a suitable line or port and arrange visits to care for it. A line is a thin tube placed in a vein; an implanted port is a small device under the skin connected to a tube in a vein.

Tell the team if needles or looking after a line worry you. Ask who will explain its care, what help you may need at home and whom to contact with questions. You do not need to understand the equipment before asking for an explanation.

Nutrition and clinical pharmacy

Nutrition advice should fit your symptoms, weight changes and treatment. A dietitian is a professional who advises on food and nutrition and can help when eating is difficult.

Food can become a source of worry for patients and families, especially when advice from different people conflicts. Explain what you are finding difficult and ask, “What should I focus on with food at the moment?” You can bring questions about advice you have heard or read.

Clinical pharmacy focuses on using medicines safely and appropriately. A pharmacist can review your medicines, how they may affect one another, and medicines prescribed to ease symptoms or side effects. Bring a complete list, including supplements and traditional remedies. Ask if anything needs to be reviewed with your current treatment.

Movement, physiotherapy and rehabilitation

Rehabilitation is support to regain abilities and manage daily activities. Physiotherapy may use movement and exercises as part of that support. Activity and rehabilitation are adapted to your strength, treatment effects and any limitations. The aim may be preserving everyday abilities, managing persistent tiredness (fatigue) or recovering after surgery.

Your goal might be getting dressed, moving around your home or returning to something you enjoy. Tell the team which activities are difficult and what you would like to work towards. Ask what is suitable for you and whether individual rehabilitation advice would help.

Ask for individual guidance if bone disease, low blood counts or other risks affect exercise.

Emotional wellbeing and sleep

Anxiety, low mood, uncertainty and disrupted sleep are common reasons to seek support. Counselling and psychological care offer help with emotions and coping and can support patients and caregivers. Persistent distress deserves attention just as physical symptoms do.

You do not have to appear positive all the time. It is okay to say that you feel frightened, low, angry or overwhelmed, or that you are struggling to sleep. If you are unsure how to begin, start with what has been hardest recently.

Tell your care team if worry, low mood or sleep problems are affecting everyday life. Ask what support is appropriate and how it can be arranged. You can ask for an explanation again if it is difficult to take everything in.

Sexual health and fertility

Treatment may affect your ability to have children (fertility), hormones (the body’s chemical messengers), intimacy or how you feel about your body.

These can be difficult subjects to bring up, but they are valid questions about your life and future. You can begin by saying that you would like to discuss body changes, intimacy or having children. You do not need to use medical terms.

Raise these concerns early, especially before treatment when options to preserve the chance of having children may be relevant.

Survivorship and caregivers

Survivorship means living with and beyond cancer. Support may continue after treatment, including return to work, rehabilitation, follow-up planning and managing fear of the cancer coming back. Finishing treatment does not mean that every worry or question has ended.

Ask what the follow-up plan involves, who will review ongoing concerns and whom to contact between visits. Tell the team which parts of everyday life still feel difficult.

A caregiver may be a partner, relative or friend helping with appointments or day-to-day care. You may be organising practical tasks while feeling worried yourself. Tell the team what is difficult to manage at home, and ask for explanations or demonstrations of any care you will be helping with. Your own wellbeing and need for support matter too.

Complementary approaches and alternatives

Complementary approaches are used alongside standard medical care; alternatives are used in its place. It is understandable to look for ways to feel better or have more control. Tell your cancer team what you are considering and what you hope it will help with, so you can discuss the evidence and possible risks.

Discuss any complementary approach with the oncology team. Some activities may help wellbeing, but supplements or remedies can change how cancer medicines work or increase side effects. Bring the names or packaging so the team can check the ingredients.

Avoid approaches that claim to cure cancer or advise stopping recommended care without evidence.

Your CTI doctors

Dr (Prof) Vijay Agarwal

Professor and Lead Consultant – Medical Oncology

Dr Prathyush V

Senior Consultant – Medical Oncology & Haemato-Oncology

Dr Darshan R S

Consultant – Medical Oncology & Haemato-Oncology

Where to get care

Start by telling your treating team what you need help with. Ask which professional or team is appropriate, whether a separate appointment is needed, and where that support can be arranged. Services and arrangements may differ by centre; confirm the location before travelling.

Bannerghatta Road

Apollo Hospitals
Bengaluru

Seshadripuram

Apollo Hospitals
Bengaluru

Sarjapur

Apollo Hospitals
Bengaluru

Jayanagar

Apollo Speciality Hospital
Bengaluru

Questions to discuss