U.S. - Stanford study of program for cancer survivors needs participants

Now, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine are looking for participants for a study on the program, which was designed to help people get the most out of life while living with cancer. This study is specifically for patients who have had cancer more than once.
Participants are needed who have had at least two bouts of cancer and have completed major treatment in the past five years. Participants can live anywhere in the United States but need access to a computer with an Internet connection and an e-mail account.

• » Cancer survivors sought for Stanford study of online workshop

Those who are interested in participating should visit http://cancersurvivors.stanford.edu or e-mail cancersurvivors@stanford.edu.
“Cancer: Thriving and Surviving” is a six-week, Internet-based workshop intended to help people living with cancer deal with their unique problems and concerns, which can include fear of reoccurrence, depression, fatigue and a sense of isolation. Each workshop brings together online about 25 people and is facilitated by two trained moderators — at least one of whom is a cancer survivor, like Gaynor Watson.

The study will assess the workshop’s effectiveness.

The workshop is an adaptation of a chronic-disease-management program developed by Kate Lorig, DrPH, professor emeritus of immunology and rheumatology, that has been shown to be effective at improving health and well-being for participants.

To evaluate this new program, Lorig and colleagues at the University of Hawaii previously enrolled 400 first-time cancer survivors in the cancer course; now the study has been expanded to include patients with a recurring or second cancer.
Gaynor Watson said past participants have benefited from the sense of camaraderie with their online peers and from the ability to communicate with others who relate to what they’re doing. Her hope, she said, is that they also walk away with “a sense of self-empowerment and the skills to live a quality life.”

During the study, survivors will be randomly assigned to participate in a workshop, or to wait six months to take the workshop. Those enrolled in the online program will have access to a Web-based learning center and online discussion boards to address such topics as healthy eating, physical activity, stress and fatigue management, communication and emotional strategies. They’ll be asked to log on two or three times for a total of about two hours each week over the six-week period; all participants will complete two online questionnaires about their health over a six-month period.

The study, which is being conducted in the Stanford Patient Education Research Center, is funded by the Stanford Cancer Center.