NCT04776941

Expressive Writing for the Management of Stress in Cancer Survivors

COVID-19: A Virtual Feasibility Study to Manage Stress

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 414 (estimated)
• Sponsor: M.D. Anderson Cancer Center · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

This clinical trial evaluates the effect of expressive writing for the management of stress in cancer survivors. Cancer diagnosis and treatment are associated with increased stress in cancer survivors related to concerns about family, career, relationships, finances, side effects of treatment, and death. This stress can be further exacerbated by social upheavals such as the COVID-19 pandemic. For safety reasons, many patients are isolated with restricted access to in-person health care and reduced social interaction with family and friends. Together with the economic uncertainties that come with this pandemic, these factors are likely to increase cancer survivors' stress levels. Expressive writing may provide a medium through which cancer survivors confront stressors and find meaning in their experience. The goal of this trial is to learn more about the experiences of cancer survivors during stressful times.

Detailed description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: I. To evaluate the feasibility of the virtual study for cancer survivors. II. To preliminarily assess the impact of the intervention for cancer survivors. OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 arms. ARM I (INTERVENTION): Patients complete questionnaires over 30 minutes about their mood, health, and income at baseline, and 1, 3, and 6 months. Patients also read brief positive messages and write essays about their experiences over 30 minutes (non-stop) once weekly (QW) for 3 weeks. ARM II (CONTROL): Patients complete questionnaires over 30 minutes about their mood, health, and income at baseline, and 1, 3, and 6 months. Patients also read brief neutral messages and write essays about neutral topics over 30 minutes (non-stop) QW for 3 weeks.

Conditions

• Hematopoietic and Lymphoid Cell Neoplasm
• Malignant Solid Neoplasm

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Behavioral Intervention	Read positive messages
BEHAVIORAL	Behavioral Intervention	Write about positive experiences
BEHAVIORAL	Behavioral Intervention	Write about neutral topics
BEHAVIORAL	Behavioral Intervention	Read neutral messages
OTHER	Quality-of-Life Assessment	Ancillary studies
OTHER	Questionnaire Administration	Complete questionnaires

Timeline

• Start date: 2020-08-07
• Primary completion: 2028-12-31
• Completion: 2028-12-31
• First posted: 2021-03-02
• Last updated: 2025-11-21

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States