About Cancer Support Community

CAR T patients and caregivers had significant unmet needs that could become barriers to care, especially those who had not yet been approved for treatment and were not yet eligible for a specific pharmaceutical company’s Patient Assistance Program. Using a proactive model of navigation to provide education and resources to patients and caregivers has allowed CSC to identify some of the key psychosocial and practical
barriers to care for the CAR T population.

Specialty navigation supports patients and caregivers with in-depth education, advocacy, and resource linking. This specialty navigation takes expertise on the part of the navigator and additional time to ensure a full understanding of the patient's situation, needs, and the best approach to overcoming barriers. 

Evidence shows that social support is crucial for improving cancer health outcomes in communities, but communities of color are not receiving the necessary support services needed specifically for them. Programs have been created that only meet the needs of some populations, due in part to a lack of baseline data about what “support” means within communities of color and other diverse communities, such as people living in rural areas. Because little evidence exists to the contrary, the beliefs, values, and modes of providing healthcare of white dominant culture are viewed as the norm against which all other ways of being are evaluated. Through our qualitative landscape analysis we acknowledged barriers to cancer care that exist while exploring ways that psychosocial support needs indeed vary by community.