Support & Survivorship

Supportive care is available to help whenever there is a need, from the point of a cancer diagnosis through the end of life. It is appropriate for any stage of cancer and can be provided at any point in the treatment continuum, including right along with curative treatment.

Situations where the Supportive Care team may be able to help include:

• Assessment and treatment of pain
• Decreasing side effects such as: pain, fatigue, constipation, weight loss, weakness, shortness of breath, difficulty sleeping, anxiety, and depression
• Support for physical, emotional, social and spiritual distress for patients or family
• Transitioning from aggressive medical care to comfort-oriented care
• Assistance with advanced care planning to match patient's goals of care with appropriate treatments
• End-of-life care

Patients are welcome to include loved ones and supportive friends in a supportive care visit.

During the supportive care visit, a complete assessment is performed and as the patient’s unique situation is determined, the team uses its collaborative approach to:

• Focus on easing suffering
• Offer treatment options
• Provide symptom relief
• Initiate specialty referrals appropriate

• 2022 Annual Report
• 2021 Annual Report
• 2020 Annual Report
• 2019 Annual Report
• 2018 Annual Report

Listed below are resources that will help you find information. These sites contain up-to-date information and will link you to other reputable sources.

• American Cancer Society
• American College of Surgeons
• American Society of Clinical Oncology
• American Society of Hematology
• American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO)
• Children's Oncology Group
• LiveStrong
• National Cancer Institute
• National Institutes of Health
• National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN)
• Oncology Nursing Society
• Susan G Komen

More than 100 clinical research trials are available for leading-edge treatments at Billings Clinic. View the current clinical trials offered through Billings Clinic Cancer Center.

View a list of current education programs on various topics of interest.

Social and emotional health and support are essential components to physical healing. Cancer impacts all life roles from diagnosis through treatment and beyond.

We offer an online private Facebook Support Group that includes a community of cancer patients, survivors, caregivers, advocates and masters level trained/licensed mental health professionals, who come from all across the greater Montana region.

Our Pediatric Center offers ongoing support and group activities for kids who have cancer and their families.

View current support groups

The infusion center is located in the Cancer Center and provides intravenous treatment to patients. Typical treatments include chemotherapy, antibiotics, blood transfusions and hydration. Our infusion center is staffed by registered nurses with special oncology training and certifications. They serve patients seven days a week including evenings, weekends, and holidays.

The Cancer Center offers integrative oncology therapies for cancer patients.

Billings Clinic's Cancer Center has one of the largest and most extensive outreach clinic programs in the nation. Created to bring cancer care closer to the individual's home, Billings Clinic physicians' travel up to 350 miles to see and treat cancer patients at any one of our outreach sites in Montana, Wyoming and North Dakota.

Clinics are conducted one to four times per month at community sites to bring the clinical expertise to the patient and supervise the chemotherapy administration. The Cancer Center professionals maintain a close interpersonal and clinical relationship with rural health care providers and patients to ensure quality care is being provided while the patient is close to their support system and home community. To find out more about our outreach clinics please contact the Billings Clinic HealthLine at 1-800-252-1246 or 406-255-8400.

Supportive and Palliative care combines symptom management and support to relieve suffering and improve quality of life for patients with advanced illness and their families. Our supportive and palliative care team members include physicians, nurses, chaplains and social workers. Supportive and Palliative care may reduce a patient's symptoms, such as pain, by addressing physical, social, psychological and spiritual needs.

Supportive and Palliative care may include:

• Transition from aggressive medical/surgical care to comfort-oriented care
• Assistance with advanced care planning to match patient's goals of care with appropriate treatments
• End-of-life care
• Support for emotional, social and spiritual distress for patients or family

Registered nurses serve as patient care navigators at Billings Clinic with the purpose of ensuring the best cancer care experience for every patient through the coordination of services. These nurses strive to provide seamless care for cancer patients and their families by offering education, support and guidance to help the patient and families to cope with the many challenges associated with a cancer diagnosis. Responsibilities of the patient care navigator include facilitating timely diagnosis and treatment, providing patient/family education regarding the cancer experience, connecting patients and families with support services, referring of cases to the tumor board conferences and clinical research, and collaborating with program leaders in program development.

Individual and family counseling sessions with a licensed social worker or licensed counselor are also available. Please schedule these sessions with the individual provider. The appointments are typically 30-50 minutes. Billings Clinic will bill Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance for these services. Financial assistance is also available.

The Senior Life program provides transportation to and from oncology appointments in Billings.

As the only Stem Cell Transplant facility in the region, the Billings Clinic Cancer Center stem cell transplant facility allows your physician to integrate the use of high-dose chemotherapy with the strategies that preserve bone marrow function. Transplant expertise includes the use of mobilized peripheral blood stem cells and bone marrow growth factors to promote recovery from high dose chemotherapy.

Historically, cancer patients receiving high-dose chemotherapy have been required to enter the hospital for lengthy periods. Today, continuing advances in cancer research and treatment make it possible for patients to receive much of their treatment on a strictly-monitored outpatient basis. Working closely with your physician, the staff of this program will provide the prescribed therapy in the outpatient Infusion Center. You will only be hospitalized when absolutely necessary.

Learn more about Billings Clinic's Stem Cell Transplantation program.

A team, consisting of a nurse practitioner or physician assistant, oncology nurse, social worker, and other multidisciplinary team members, is available throughout a patient's experience with cancer from the point of diagnosis forward. The Symptom Management Team can assist with:

• improved quality of life
• assessment and treatment of pain
• psychosocial needs
• spiritual needs
• advanced care planning
• decreasing side effects such as pain, fatigue, constipation, weight loss, weakness, shortness of breath, difficulty sleeping as well as mental health or emotional symptoms such as confusion, depression, and anxiety.

To request a referral, or for more information, call 406-238-2500, extension 7377.

Our tobacco cessation program provides options and alternatives to the “cold turkey” approach. Research shows greater success rates with combined individual sessions, group support and pharmacologic assistance (either over-the-counter or prescription).

The Women's Wellness Screening Program is funded through the Billings Clinic Foundation and provides free mammograms and/or pap smears, clinical breast exams, and lipid panels for uninsured or underinsured women every month. Fifteen women each month are provided free screening each month through this program.