While numerous organizations provide personalized emotional support for cancer patients and survivors, their efforts fall short of meeting the overwhelming demand. In 2023 alone, approximately 1.9 million new cancer patients were diagnosed in the United States. Despite the best intentions of these organizations, their low patient engagement highlights a critical need for a fundamental shift in approach. Two primary factors contribute to this shortfall: reinventing the wheel and a lack of familiarity and trust.
1. Reinventing the Wheel: A Costly Inefficiency
All these organizations, despite their noble intentions, end up recreating the same systems—leading to inefficiencies and fragmented efforts. Providing consistent emotional support requires several essential components:
- Volunteer Recruitment and Training: Processes to identify, train, and manage volunteer cancer survivors.
- Customer Care and Support: Systems to ensure timely responses and follow-up with both volunteers and patients.
- Fundraising and Organizational Development: Sustainable funding mechanisms to maintain and expand services.
- Marketing and Outreach: Building trust and recognition within communities to engage survivors effectively.
- Incorporating New Research and Innovations: Staying abreast of breakthroughs in emotional support to integrate best practices.
Each organization individually manages these complex processes, duplicating efforts and leading to inconsistent outcomes. This fragmented approach limits scalability and results in lower-quality support for patients—individuals who are already overwhelmed and in need of seamless, compassionate assistance. Emotional support must prioritize safety, efficacy, timeliness, and a human-centered approach. However, the current model, where multiple organizations emerge to serve different geographies, dilutes resources and hinders collaborative progress. This inefficiency must be addressed.
2. Lack of Familiarity and Trust: A Barrier to Engagement
A second, equally significant challenge is the lack of familiarity and trust. Establishing trust is essential for the success of any emotional support initiative. Patients and their families are more likely to seek help from organizations they recognize and feel connected to, but without widespread visibility and local grassroots efforts, this trust is difficult to build.
Trust extends beyond patient engagement—it also affects the recruitment and retention of volunteers. A strong, recognizable brand reassures both patients and volunteers that they are contributing to a well-established, credible initiative. Unfortunately, in the absence of a national or localized framework, many patients opt not to engage with these organizations at all. This was the case for my mom, who, despite needing emotional support, chose not to seek help due to a lack of trust in available resources.
The Result: Fragmented Efforts, Lower Engagement
When these two factors—reinventing the wheel and lack of trust—combine, the result is a fragmented system where efforts are divided and outcomes are suboptimal. Despite the dedication of countless volunteers and staff, the lack of cohesion leads to a lower percentage of patients receiving the emotional support they desperately need.
Keep on reading to see how CanSER’s model addresses these issues, ultimately working to create a better patient experience!
If you, too, believe that we need a familiar and trustworthy national system for the emotional support of cancer patients/survivors, endorse today!