Symptom Management and Survivorship Plus Coaching for Advanced Cancer Survivors and Their Caregivers
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- The protocol lists: Symptom Management and Survivorship Handbook + Coaching, Symptom Management and Survivorship Handbook.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Cancer Metastatic, Symptoms and Signs, Quality of Life. Basic parameters: from 18 years · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- United States
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
Unsure about the terms? Read our patient guide →
Official title
Symptom Management and Survivorship Plus Coaching to Reduce Symptom Severity and Improve Health Related-quality of Life (HR-QOL) for Breast, GI and Melanoma Cancer Survivors and Their Caregivers
Overview
The protocol will include a 10-week Symptom Management and Survivorship Handbook (SMSH) intervention to address informational needs for the management of physical and psychological symptoms, bundled with telephone delivered health coaching to address their symptom interference with physical, psychological and social functioning. The SMSH intervention, which includes both symptom assessment and management, is simple to implement, scalable, and evidence-based will be delivered to all survivors and caregivers (dyads) in this study, and will serve as an active control. In addition to the SMSH, intervention arm dyads will receive health coaching to address symptom interference and reduce social isolation. Symptom burden is more pronounced in marginalized populations such as Latina/o, rural, older age survivors and their caregivers.18-20 Many health disparities in these populations are underwritten by social isolation due to lack of access, disconnection from linguistically competent health care, mobility, and geographic proximity,21-23 and health coaching can address these issues. The specific aims of the proposed feasibility study are to determine among survivors with metastatic or stage IV cancer and their caregivers (dyads): Aim 1: Demonstrate SMSH plus health coaching feasibility (recruitment, retention, satisfaction (acceptability and appropriateness) for cancer survivors and their caregivers. Benchmarks: Recruitment 70% approached, Retention 75%, and participant satisfaction through qualitative exit interviews in week 11. Aim 2: Collect preliminary data for the intervention impact on whether the SMSH + health coaching results in lowered burden of 24 symptoms (primary outcome) over weeks 1-10, and improved HRQoL (social, physical, psychological) (secondary outcome) at week 11, compared to SMSH alone. Aim 3. Examine the enactment of self-management strategies in SMSH+health coaching versus SMSH alone. The proposed pilot trial will provide proof of concept for the SMSH coupled with a live telephone delivered health coaching intervention to improve symptom management and HRQoL for metastatic breast, GI, and melanoma cancer survivors and caregivers. By addressing physical and psychological symptoms and survivorship using scalable, accessible interventions delivered via telephone, within reach of traditionally underserved populations, the findings have the potential to lay the foundation for the dissemination and implementation of a practical solution to meet survivor-caregiver needs both locally and nationally.
Interventions
- Behavioral Symptom Management and Survivorship Handbook + Coaching
Coaches call survivors and caregivers separately each week. In week one, they introduce themselves and the intervention, explain the 10-call structure, and help participants prioritize symptoms and set management goals. Coaches review SMSH recommendations, coach on symptom management strategies, and use techniques such as motivational interviewing and self-monitoring. Coaches remind participants that some strategies help multiple symptoms, and recommend talking to a provider if any symptom score - Behavioral Symptom Management and Survivorship Handbook
Survivors and caregivers receive a printed Symptom Management and Survivorship Handbook (SMSH), proven to help manage symptoms. The SMSH covers 24 common cancer symptoms (like fatigue, depression, sleep issues, pain), plus lifestyle, behavior, and survivorship guidelines. For 10 weeks, an interventionist calls weekly to assess symptoms and refer to relevant handbook chapters.
Primary outcome measures
- Symptom severity [Time frame: 10 weeks]
Secondary outcome measures (1)
- Health Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) [Time frame: 11 weeks]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria for cancer survivors:
- Age 18 or older
- Diagnosed with metastatic or stage IV breast, gastrointestinal (GI), and melanoma cancer
- Able to perform basic activities of daily living
- Cognitively oriented to time, place, and person (recruiter determined)
- Able to speak and understand English or Spanish
- Access to a telephone
- Has a caregiver in any relationship role (e.g., spouse, sibling, parent, friend) who can.
Inclusion criteria for the caregivers:
- Age 18 or older
- Able to speak and understand English or Spanish
- Telephone access
- Not currently treated for cancer
Exclusion criteria
- Nursing home resident
- Bedridden
- Hospice care
- Currently receiving a symptom management intervention
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: No
Study design
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Model
- Parallel assignment
- Masking
- Triple blind
- Primary purpose
- Supportive care
Study locations
United States · 1 center
- University of Arizona Cancer Center — Tucson
Identifiers
NCT: NCT07415564 · STUDY00007379