The Symptom Management Service (SMS) offers consultations to improve the quality of life and care for patients at UCSF’s Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center.
The SMS provides treatment and counseling for physical and emotional symptoms of cancer, to help people live as well as possible. Assistance includes help with pain, fatigue, depression, anxiety, advanced-care planning and spiritual issues. Treatments integrate medical, psychological, social work and spiritual approaches, which are offered along with regular cancer care. Care is coordinated with cancer treatments and with the support of patients’ oncology team. The SMS sees patients in clinic, by video telemedicine, and in their homes.
SMS Programs for Everyone
Your SMS team works closely with your oncology team and some oncology practices have established special programs in the SMS for their patients:
- SMS in the UCSF Brain Tumor Center - for patients with brain tumors
- SMS in Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) - for patients with hematologic malignancies
- Geri-Pall - for older patients with lung cancer
- SMS in Head & Neck Oncology – for patients with upcoming surgery
Contact Us By PhoneCall 415-885-SMS1 (415-885-7671) For urgent needs please call your oncologist office directly. |
Locations
Mount Zion Mission Bay Parnassus For questions about your appointment, please contact 415-885-7671. |
Resources
- Understanding Your Options at the End of Life (from UCSF Medical Center)
- VIDEO: UCSF-filmed educational video with Redwing Keyssar, RN, advance care planning expert.
- Advanced Care Planning (ASCO publication)
- Advanced Care Planning video
- East Bay Conversation Project (videos to inform conversations on end-of-life issues)
- Living Beyond Statistics
- PREPARE, an online advanced care planning tool
- Advanced Care Planning POLST Form
- Advanced Care Directive Form
- Seniors At Home 'Putting Your Affairs in Order'
- Five Wishes
- Stanford Letter Project
- The Conversation Project is dedicated to helping people talk about their wishes for end-of-life care.
- I Know Something Project captures short, personal video stories from people who have faced the hard moments in life that we don’t talk about every day.
- FAQs: End of Life Option Act at UCSF (from UCSF Medical Center)
- MERI Center Advance Care Planning Resources
- singlefathersduetocancer.org, Resource for Bereaved Fathers
- Kara Grief Support
- Medline Plus
- Help Guide
- Circle of Care, bereavement services for children and their families
- Contact your local Home Hospice Agency for grief assistance
- Caregiver's Handbook (English, eBook)
- Orientation to Caregiving: A Handbook for Family Caregivers of Patients with Brain Tumors (English)
- Manual Para Los Encargados del Cuidado Continuo (Spanish)
- Family Caregiver Alliance
- American Cancer Society
- National Cancer Institute
- Speaking to children about cancer
- eHealth Initiative A guide to the types of electronic, web-based tools and technologies that patients and their families, caregivers, and support networks can use to make understanding, treating, and coping with cancer a little bit easier.
For more information on in-home assistance and transportation call your Cancer Center social worker
- Coming Home Hospice
- Hospice By The Bay
- Laguna Honda Hospice and Palliative Care
- Zen Hospice Project
- Pathways Hospice
- UCSF lodging links
- For Medi-Cal patients living further than 50 miles away, call your Cancer Center Social Worker
- Road to Recovery, American Cancer Society call (866) 444- 7672
- Paratransit
Materials for Download
SMS Patient Information