One of those programs, in San Francisco, is already having positive results, according to Suzanne L. Dibble, NNSc, a researcher and nurse at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

Combining traditional care with personalized attention is an approach that works best for patients, Dibble said. "Medicine can do a lot. But medicine with care and compassion can do much more," she said.

In the UCSF program, researchers are comparing two groups of about 35 to 40 patients. One control group continues with traditional care and the other group receives free "interventional" assistance along with traditional medical care, according to Michael Rabow, MD, assistant clinical professor of medicine at UCSF. This means the program use an interdisciplinary approach, involving pharmacists, chaplains, nurses, social workers, volunteer advocates, and even one artist, in caring for the 40 patients, more than one-third of whom have cancer.

While a patient may never meet with the pharmacist, the pharmacist will go over all the patient’s medications to make sure they are not conflicting. Nurses help find out what help may be needed at home, while chaplains aid in spiritual well-being. The artist helps the patients "tell their story through drawing, painting, collage, tile-making and quilt making," Dr. Rabow explained.

More important, perhaps, are patient advocates, pharmacy and medical students who visit the patients each week. "They meet once a week and can help arrange any appointments or advocate for [the patient, and] tell doctors if their condition is worsening, or just help with things at home. Patients have reported that patient advocates are the most important part of their care. It’s the regular contact with another person that’s important," Dr. Rabow said.

Dibble echoed that sentiment and added that the interdisciplinary approach helps doctors as well as patients. "In this day and age, primary care physicians have so little time," she said. When someone visits a patient at home, they realize many things about the patient and can help make sure their needs are being met, Dibble said.

For example, on a home visit, an advocate learned that a patient’s arm was sore and she couldn’t wash or brush her hair, according to Dibble. Just having someone come by and do that for her helped to alleviate some of the patient’s depression. While these may be simple efforts, Dibble said they have long-reaching effects.

"There is a lot of depression partly because of uncontrolled pain. Eight-five percent of our patients have some level of pain and 85 percent have shortness of breath, restricting their activities. We can determine if they will benefit from massage, psychosocial support, or if they need help getting their medication on time," Dibble added.

And finally, determining when hospice care may be needed is helpful because Medicare pays for six months of care, and few people take advantage of that. "Going from [the focus on] cure to hospice is the hardest thing to do. But I think you can focus on comfort care and treatment," she said.

This type of program is very useful, said Herman Kattlove, MD, a medical editor for the American Cancer Society (ACS) and medical director at Trinity Hospice in Los Angeles County, Calif. "Many times, physicians get so focused on treating patients’ disease, they forget comfort measures. Also, physicians do not have the ability to provide social support for patients with chronic or advanced diseases," he said. "There is a need for these kinds of measures outside a traditional hospice program. Often, patients and physicians are reluctant to apply for a hospice program because there are still treatments that can be used to treat the disease even though they are not curative."

While no two Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grants are exactly the same, there are many programs throughout the country that may be of interest to cancer patients and their family.