CanHOPE is a non-profit cancer counselling and support service provided by Parkway Cancer Centre, Singapore.

Our Services

Through CanHOPE, we strive to inspire hope in our patients and their loved ones by helping them better cope with cancer. Counselling, nutritional advice, rehabilitation, education, care coordination and support group activities are the core of what we do.

Cancer Counselling

Cancer is hard to deal with by yourself. No one needs to face it alone. When people with cancer seek and receive help from others, they often find it easier to cope. Although talking about it can be difficult, most people find that sharing their thoughts and feelings help them deal with their condition better.

The various forms of support involve:

  • Psycho-emotional and psycho-social issues
  • Coping with cancer and treatment
  • Support group activities and programmes

Nutrition in Cancer Care

Eating well during cancer treatment starts by understanding nutrients that are affected by the treatment, and how these nutrients are required to ensure the well being of patients. Educating patients and their families on nutrition principles, dietary plans and diet modifications, and showing them the finer points of food selection and preparation becomes the utmost important step to nourishing the body back to good health.

The nutritional services include:

  • Nutrition screening
  • Individual dietary counselling
  • Nutrition workshops
  • Cooking classes
  • Nutritional resources

Rehabilitation

The road to recovery presents unique challenges to each individual. Common side effects experienced by cancer patients during and after treatment may affect functional independence, gait and even quality of life. In addition to medical treatment, rehabilitative services and therapy can be instrumental in assisting the return or improvement in the level of function, endurance and empowerment for patients.

The common rehabilitative programmes comprise:

  • Upper and lower limbs assessment
  • Lymphoedema prevention
  • Exercise after cancer
  • Rehabilitation during treatment

Palliative Care

Palliative care focuses on improving the patients’ quality of life by managing pain and other distressing symptoms. Patients with serious illnesses will eventually have to face end-of-life issues, but up till then, it is important to have pain and other distressing symptoms under control.

Palliative care services include:

  • Cancer Pain Management
  • Discharge and Home Care Planning
  • Advance Care Planning
  • End of Life Care

Care Coordination

The journey in cancer treatment may raise multiple issues, including logistical challenges, cultural and language barriers, to patients and their families. A team of care coordinators working at the forefront at Parkway Cancer Centre is on hand to assist patients in overcoming these issues and provides assurance and a peace of mind through their coordination services locally and in the region.

Care coordinators’support includes:

  • Meet and Greet
  • Patient Orientation
  • Liaison between doctors, clinics, radiology centre and patient
  • Translation service
  • Other coordination services

Support Groups and Programmes

Adjustment to cancer commonly includes patient and families making changes to their lives, from lifestyle to interpersonal relationship issues, in order to manage the stress and cope with the diagnosis. Awareness through patient and caregiver education and the support through various coordination services help patients and their loved ones adjust to the changes in their treatment journey.

 

CanHOPE Support Groups and Programmes consist of organised programmes that bring together individuals led by either a professional or peer leader. Regardless of their structure most support group programmes share the same goals of promoting participant self-awareness, providing accurate and timely information, assisting in the discovery of problem solving strategies and fostering mutual support among group members.

Our programmes can be organised under three broad frameworks:

  • Educational Talks
  • Therapeutic
  • Activities

To find out more about the support programmes available, please go to our Events page

Awareness and Outreach

CanHOPE is dedicated to advocate early detection and awareness of cancer through educational opportunities.

Our variety of initiatives include:

  • CanScrEEn
  • CanFRiENDS
  • “I am a Cancer Warrior (ICW)” Campaign
  • Seminars and Roadshows