Support Services

Depending on your needs, you may benefit from meetings with our social workers or dietitians. We can also provide time with financial coordinators who can help you with payment authorizations and plans. Our patient and family therapists provide ongoing counseling to you and your family to manage your psychological and emotional well-being during treatment. Nurse navigators can schedule and guide you through appointments, tests, and procedures. Additional services are listed below.

Our comprehensive cancer support services range from helping to minimize the side effects of treatment to coping with the emotional and psychological effects of diagnosis and treatment. These services, available at the Blood Cancer Center or nearby at Duke Cancer Center, include nutrition counseling, smoking cessation classes, palliative care, child-life services, survivorship support, and many more. In addition to these services, Duke Cancer Center offers a patient education program for Duke cancer patients and their families.

As a patient at Duke, you may be offered the chance to take part in clinical trials on new blood cancer therapies. Participation in these trials can give you access to new drugs and innovative treatment approaches that are not available elsewhere.  

If you are traveling to Duke from outside the Triangle, you may need to arrange temporary short- or long-term lodging. Many local hotels offer discounts to patients receiving cancer care at Duke. The Duke Health concierge service partners with select hotels and inns to secure special medical rates. 

Stem cell transplant patients and caregivers must stay within 30 minutes of Duke University Hospital during treatment. We ask that you stay at one of our program’s approved lodging options as they have been vetted for safety and infection control. Your transplant social worker will provide you with specific information on these options.

Duke Law School’s Health Justice Clinic offers free legal assistance to help you with legal issues that may accompany your medical diagnosis and treatment. Volunteer law students from the Cancer Pro Bono Project are also available to prepare important legal documents such as healthcare power of attorney, living will, and general power of attorney.