Compassionate and comprehensive cancer care is about more than just treating a disease — it’s about treating the whole patient and family. At Lynn Cancer Institute at Boca Raton Regional Hospital, our CLASSIC Program helps provide this holistic care so our patients can experience a better quality of life.

The Charles Levitetz Advanced Symptom and Support Individualized Care (CLASSIC) Program offers an extra layer of support for patients undergoing treatment at Lynn Cancer Institute. As a key part of your care team, we work together with your doctors and other healthcare providers to help you and your family manage the physical and emotional side effects of cancer and cancer treatment.

The CLASSIC Program is one of the area’s only outpatient palliative care programs. Our goal is to help you feel better so you can continue and complete your treatment plan.

Who benefits from the CLASSIC Program?

The CLASSIC Program helps patients manage symptoms and side effects of cancer and cancer treatment. Our team is available to meet with all Lynn Cancer Institute patients regardless of diagnosis or treatment stage.

We can help you cope with cancer side effects such as:

  • Pain
  • Poor appetite or other eating changes
  • Nausea
  • Fatigue
  • Anxiety and depression
  • Sleep issues
  • Breathing problems

Our team can also help with other aspects of cancer treatment, such as:

  • Decisions around treatment options
  • Financial stresses of treatment
  • Advance care planning
  • Spiritual counseling

What can I expect when I come to the Lynn Cancer Institute CLASSIC Program?

When you arrive for your first visit, we’ll have you fill out a short questionnaire. This survey will ask about any aspects of your treatment that may be causing you distress. Distress can be caused by physical symptoms as well as worry or anxiety related to your diagnosis and treatment plan.

Once you complete the survey you will meet with our team to talk through your responses and your cancer experience so far. We’ll dig into what your day-to-day life is like and determine how we can help make it better. Our team includes a doctor and social worker who both specialize in helping cancer patients achieve a better quality of life.

After this assessment, we’ll create a plan together that addresses your symptoms and provides the support you need. Our recommendations may include:

  • Medicines
  • Diet changes
  • Supplements
  • Psychosocial support
  • Behavior modifications
  • Complementary therapies, such as mind-body therapy and acupuncture

By exploring your hopes and values, we’ll help match your treatment to your personal goals. We’ll also communicate regularly with your oncology team to coordinate care, as needed.

We have close relationships with other support services at Lynn Cancer Institute, such as dieticians, spiritual and financial counselors, and can help arrange meetings and appointments as needed.

After the initial visit, we will schedule follow-up appointments to check on your progress. We’ll provide ongoing care and support with the goal to reduce the burden of your illness. We also make sure you are feeling and functioning better day-to-day.

Our clinic is centrally located at the Lynn Cancer Institute. We can also schedule your appointments for times when you are receiving other services at Lynn Cancer Institute.

Our Approach

Our Approach

When you come to the Lynn Cancer Institute CLASSIC Program, you can expect:

  • Seamless coordinated care with your cancer team; we work together with all of your doctors and healthcare providers to make sure you can feel as good as possible
  • A team that specializes in helping patients cope with the physical, emotional, social and spiritual effects of cancer diagnosis and treatment
  • Compassionate, respectful support through every step of your cancer journey

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Palliative care is individualized medical care for patients living with a serious illness, such as cancer or heart disease. This care focuses on providing relief from symptoms and stress of the illness, with the goal of improving the quality of life for the patient and family.

    Palliative care is based on the unique needs of the patient and not the patient’s prognosis. It is helpful at any stage of an illness and we can offer it together with cancer treatment. Palliative care is different from hospice care, which is supportive care for patients with a shorter life expectancy (six months or less) whose treatment is focused on comfort.

  • The CLASSIC Program is an outpatient program, which means we meet with patients who are receiving cancer treatment but are not staying in the hospital. While we don’t visit patients during their hospital stays, we do work closely with Boca Raton Regional Hospital healthcare providers to offer support for Lynn Cancer Institute patients undergoing treatment or care there. This collaboration helps provide a more seamless transition of care once the patient leaves the hospital.

  • Our program offers telemedicine appointments if you’re not able to travel to Lynn Cancer Institute. We can also meet with you during medical appointments or while you’re undergoing chemotherapy treatment at Lynn Cancer institute.

Meet the Team

Meet the Team

Our team includes:

  • Patricia Jacobs, MD, an internal medicine doctor who has special training in palliative medicine

Clinical Trials

At Lynn Cancer Institute, we treat cancer in today’s patients and offer hope for those who may get the disease in the future. Through clinical trials, we study promising new ways to diagnose and treat cancer. As our patient, you have access to these trials and treatments that aren’t widely available elsewhere. If a clinical trial may be right for you, we’ll talk with you about the potential benefits and risks. We make your overall well-being and safety our top priority if you choose to participate.

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