National Caregivers Day: Navigating Both Sides of the Journey With Heather Badt, MBA, LSS, and Jasmin Hundal, MD, MS, MPH
Expert Perspectives · Keira Smith · 2026-02-20
National Caregivers Day, observed on February 20, is a day to honor the unsung heroes who provide care to individuals navigating a health journey. In this discussion, Heather Badt, Chief Operating Officer at Cancer Support Community, sits down with Dr. Jasmin Hundal to discuss her experience as both a patient and a caregiver, as well as how Cancer Support Community strives to support caregivers as they support their loved ones.
For more information about Cancer Support Community, visit https://www.cancersupportcommunity.org/ or call the helpline at 888-793-9355.
The Caregiving Journey
Ms. Badt’s experience as a caregiver began when she and her husband were both diagnosed with cancer only 10 days apart. Navigating her own triple-negative breast cancer while her husband faced esophageal cancer, she experienced firsthand the immense weight of the caregiving role.
“My diagnosis and treatment were very textbook; I did have chemo, radiation, and surgery, and while it was a lot, it wasn’t a lot relative to what my husband was going through,” she explained. “Over a nine-month period, he had chemo, radiation, an esophagectomy, hospitalizations, and many, many complications. Navigating these complications and being supportive for him kind of trumped all of what I was going through.”
They also faced the challenge of guiding their 10- and 13-year-old sons through this journey. “We were navigating messages that are age-appropriate to children so that they felt informed enough but not scared,” she said. “The education and empowerment that they needed during that time was also a full-time job.”
The Caregiver as a Clinical Ally
A caregiver is far more than a companion; they are a critical component of the healthcare ecosystem. Ms. Badt emphasized that one of the most vital roles a caregiver plays is acting as an advocate and a "second set of ears" during the whirlwind of a consultation. "Whether they are there virtually or in person, caregivers are there to hear what is being shared with the patient and ask questions on their behalf to help them adhere to treatment and reinforce information about side effects.”
In practical terms, caregivers improve adherence, help track symptoms and medication changes, and can notice functional decline earlier than clinicians see it. Dr. Hundal also highlights how difficult it can be to process information while wearing two hats—such as her experience as both a caregiver and a clinician—and how easily questions get lost in the intensity of a visit. Creating space for caregiver participation can improve both comprehension and follow-through.
Bridging the Communication Gap
Clinicians can significantly lower the distress of a diagnosis by adapting how they communicate and ensuring they are hearing from everyone in the room. Ms. Badt recalls a surgeon who drew an elementary picture of her husband’s surgery on a piece of paper to help them visualize the procedure. "That was brilliant and really connected the dots for us," she says. "If he hadn’t done that, I think it would have been much harder for us to understand what was happening.”
Furthermore, clinicians should seek input from both the patient and the caregiver during visits. Ms. Badt points out that she and her husband often gave different answers regarding his symptoms. "It was important for the providers to hear both of our answers, not just his, because it really made them probe slightly differently or offer different solutions to what was happening." Incorporating caregiver input can also help identify underreported distress, depression, sleep deprivation, or safety issues that otherwise stay invisible.
Caregiving Does Not End When Treatment Ends
Survivorship is often framed as the finish line, but caregivers know it can be a long corridor. Ms. Badt explains, “To any lay person or friend or family member, they think you're done because your treatment’s done, but you're really not done.” Her husband’s experience included ongoing complications and repeated surgeries, a ripple effect that has persisted long after primary therapy.
For clinicians, this argues for longitudinal caregiver support: normalize that late effects, fatigue, employment disruption, and evolving disability can extend the caregiving role for years. It also supports expanding distress screening and supportive care pathways beyond active treatment.
Cancer Support Community: A Partner for Caregivers
Ms. Badt’s professional work is directly informed by what her family needed most during crisis: practical support that is accessible and family-centered. “I’m honored to work at Cancer Support Community,” she says. “It was one of the organizations that was extremely impactful for whole-patient care during our experience.”
Cancer Support Community helps patients and caregivers find education, navigation, and emotional support without adding cost or complexity. Ms. Badt emphasizes the importance of making resources usable in real life: “Being able to get those resources to people when they need it, where they need it, how they need it, means something different for each person.” She also points to caregiver-specific needs such as mental health support and guidance for communicating with children—areas that can be difficult to address in a standard clinic visit.
Build Caregiver Support into Routine Oncology Practice
When asked what can change now, Ms. Badt is direct about actionable steps. “Distress screening for caregivers is something critical that health systems could put in place today if they chose to, instead of just distress screening for patients,” she says. She also reminds clinicians that caregiver capacity is not infinite. “If a caregiver's not incorporating self-care, they can't care for the patient,” she explains. Simple workflow changes—documenting the caregiver, inviting their observations, asking how they’re coping, and routinely referring to reputable support organizations—can meaningfully reduce caregiver burnout and improve patient outcome
Key Takeaways
Implement Caregiver Distress Screening: Proactively assess the mental and emotional health of the caregiver, as their well-being is directly tied to patient adherence.
Utilize Multi-Modal Communication: Use visual aids, written summaries, and verbal check-ins to ensure information is retained by both the patient and their "second set of ears."
Validate the Dual Narrative: Ask the caregiver for their observations on the patient’s symptoms; they often provide a different, equally important perspective on side effects and quality of life.
Connect to External Resources: Familiarize yourself with free organizations that provide whole-patient care, such as Cancer Support Community, to supplement clinical treatment.
Acknowledge the Long Tail of Survivorship: Remind families that the need for support continues after the final treatment, as complications and emotional ripples can persist for years.
About the Speakers
Heather Badt, MBA, LSS, is the Chief Operation Officer of Cancer Support Community. She has more than 25 years of experience in leading innovative and impactful change in large companies and nonprofit organizations. Since 2019, she has led Cancer Support Community’s administration, operations, and strategic growth. She is a passionate advocate for cancer patients and survivors and is deeply involved in the cancer community.
Jasmin Hundal, MD, MS, MPH, is a third-year Hematology/Oncology Fellow at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. Previously, she completed her Internal Medicine Residency at the University of Connecticut. Dr. Hundal’s main area of interest is the overlap between cardiometabolic health and cancer, particularly for breast cancer patients and survivors. Outside of work, she enjoys traveling, cooking, and hiking.