Cancer Support Services
Cancer Support Services
Support that reaches as far as cancer does.
The hardest parts of cancer often happen outside appointments.
Your work. Your finances. Your mental and physical health. Your relationships. The bills, scheduling, and difficult conversations you never expected to be having. Cancer can quickly become bigger than treatment alone.
At Kootenai Cancer Clinic, support starts early—before financial stress, transportation problems, medication costs, or unanswered questions have a chance to impact treatment. One of the region’s largest dedicated oncology navigation teams works alongside social workers, financial counselors, pharmacists, and other specialists to help identify challenges early and connect patients and families with the right support throughout treatment.
Because cancer care takes more than medicine alone.
Support Starts on Day One
Guidance from the beginning
Oncology navigators help you understand what to expect and connect you with support services at the start.
Understanding needs early
Every patient is screened using the NCCN Distress Thermometer, a nationally recognized tool that helps identify emotional, financial, and practical needs before they become barriers to your care.
Team-based coordinated care
Social work, financial counseling, nutrition, rehabilitation, and pharmacy teams communicate with your clinical team keeping your support and treatment aligned.
With you throughout
Support services are available throughout treatment, recovery and survivorship even as needs change over time.
Your navigator knows your name—and your next step.
Your navigator is your personal guide through all of it—who knows your case, stays with your family through every stage, and tackles logistical, financial and informational challenges before they become obstacles.
From diagnosis to treatment and survivorship, your navigator is in your corner, making a hard thing feel less hard.
How We Help
Oncology Social Work
Our Kootenai Cancer Center Social Work team brings specialized oncology expertise to every patient and their family, providing emotional support, case management and hands-on guidance. The team is staffed by licensed clinical social workers (LCSWs) and licensed master’s-level social workers (LMSWs).
Services include:
- Psychosocial distress screening
- Health behavior assessment and intervention
- Counseling
- Ongoing case management across the cancer care continuum
The team also addresses key social drivers of health by helping with:
- Transportation
- Financial assistance programs
- Housing support
- Access to community and supportive resources
In-Clinic Counseling
As a Kootenai Clinic patient, you have access to in-clinic counseling sessions—regular or semi-regular, one-hour therapy sessions with licensed clinicians trained in:
- Grief
- Depression
- Anxiety
Clinicians work as part of your coordinated care team. They provide these additional services to help address both the physical and emotional challenges you may be facing.
Support for the Whole Journey
Nutrition Services
Our dietitians work with you throughout treatment to help you maintain strength, manage side effects, and support your body’s ability to tolerate what’s ahead.
Rehabilitation Services
Occupational, physical, and speech therapy—including specialized lymphedema therapy—to help you rebuild strength, restore range of motion, and manage discomfort during and after treatment.
Rooted in North Idaho. Connected Across the Region.
Cancer prevention doesn’t stop at our doors. Kootenai Health partners with local and regional organizations to bring screening, education, and support resources to communities across North Idaho—including annual cancer screening and prevention events.
We partner with:
- Panhandle Health District
- Heritage Health
- American Cancer Society
We participate in:
- North Idaho Cancer Advisory Group
- Comprehensive Cancer Alliance of Idaho
- Montana Cancer Consortium
