Quality cancer care extends beyond treatment. Patients and families tell us that emotional, practical, financial and social supports are essential to their cancer journey. However, many supportive care services such as counselling, nutrition support and financial navigation are not consistently known or easy to access. This can lead to uneven experiences and unmet needs across the province.
To address these gaps, BC Cancer has taken a collaborative, patient-centered approach to reimagining supportive care services across the province.
"Supportive care focuses on treating the person rather than the disease, so it is essential to understand the patient experience – the impact of cancer on their lives and on the things that are most meaningful to them – to help guide our supportive care programming. Our partnership with the Patient & Family Partnerships and Experience team, the Health Design Lab at Emily Carr University, and two patient advisors from BC Cancer's Patient and Family Partner network is exemplary in ensuring that the patient experience is embedded in the work we do."
- Jonathan Avery, manager, Provincial Programming, Supportive Care
BC Cancer's Patient & Family Partnerships and Experience team and the Supportive Care program partnered with the Health Design Lab at Emily Carr University and two patient advisors from BC Cancer's Patient and Family Partner network. Together, they co designed a process to better understand awareness gaps, barriers to access and opportunities to improve supportive care, ensuring the work was grounded in lived experience and aligned with provincial cancer care priorities.
In January 2025, a province-wide survey was launched to gather insights from patients and families about their experiences with supportive care services.
More than 500 respondents from across British Columbia shared their perspectives on:
- awareness of available services
- barriers to accessing support
- opportunities for improvement
Building on the findings from the survey, the project team hosted two virtual co-design workshops and one in-person session, bringing together over 35 patient and family partners. Participants explored service use, gaps in access, and ways to improve awareness and navigation of supportive care resources.
Themes emerging from these workshops were shared back with participants during a validation session in June 2025, attended by over 22 patient and family partners, ensuring transparency and continued collaboration.
In September 2025, a second survey invited patients and families to prioritize ideas generated in Phase 1.
Two additional co-design workshops in October and November brought together 21 patient and family partners and 13 BC Cancer staff members to collaboratively assess potential impact, feasibility and resource considerations, helping identify priority actions.
The insights generated through this co-design process have directly shaped BC Cancer's 5 Year Supportive Care Strategic Plan and informed the priorities outlined in its 3-year roadmap.
Over the next three years, BC Cancer's Supportive Care program will focus on:
- improving awareness of available supportive care services
- expanding opportunities for mental and emotional heath support as part of cancer treatment
- strengthening service offerings across the province to ensure consistent, equitable access
A detailed report documenting the activities of this initiative, including the current supportive care services landscape and the perspectives shared by patients and families, is now available.
Read the full report here.
We are deeply grateful for the time, insights, and ongoing support of our patient and family partners. We would especially like to acknowledge our two partner advisors, Jessica Jimmo and Helen Zhang, as well as all workshop participants, for their meaningful contributions to this work.
Their honesty, generosity, and lived experience were central to shaping the findings of this project and will continue to guide future planning.
To learn more about patient and family partnerships at BC Cancer, visit the Patient & Family Partnerships and Experience web page or email us at patientexp@bccancer.bc.ca.
