Supportive care takes into account the specific needs of cancer patients, using a multidisciplinary approach. But what about the patient's entourage? Families must often directly or indirectly bear the suffering of patients, and sometimes they have difficulty adapting to medical and institutional culture. What's more, medical teams often have trouble building partnerships with families. Based on these observations, what kind of supportive care should be available to families? Oft-neglected needs, communication, psychosocial support, and management of conflicts with healthcare teams are several issues that supportive care must address to avoid bypassing families.