Couple-Focused Intervention for Breast Cancer Patients

Completed · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Breast Cancer

In brief

The goal of the proposed study is to evaluate the efficacy of 2 couple-focused interventions developed to reduce the psychological distress on women and their partners during and after the breast cancer experience. The first group, an Enhanced Couple-Focused Group (ECG), incorporates cognitive-behavioral interventions (e.g., relaxation, stress management skills) as well as basic relationship communication and support skills (e.g., expressing support needs constructively). The second group, a Couples' Support Group (SG), is a non-structured group where general topics are discussed. The investigators will evaluate the impact of each group condition on patients' psychological adaptation, social and role functioning, and cancer treatment adherence. The investigators will also evaluate whether patient and partner perceptions of relationship support, relationship intimacy, stress management skills, and intervention group support mediate the groups' effects on each other's psychological adaptation. The investigators hypothesize that ECG will have stronger positive effects on patient general and cancer-related distress and well-being than SG. The investigators hypothesize that group support will mediate greater improvements in patient psychological functioning in both groups but that the effects of group support will be significantly stronger in SG than ECG.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT00940277

Run by

Fox Chase Cancer Center

People needed

611

Starts

2007-12-01

Expected to finish

2015-10-01

Last updated by the study team

2016-02-03

Who can join

Age: 18 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• patient has a primary diagnosis of Stage 0 (Ductal Carcinoma in situ), 1, 2, or 3a breast cancer
• patient has had breast cancer surgery within the last twelve months
• patient and partner married or cohabitating
• patient and partner 18 years of age or older
• patient and partner speak and read English
• patient and partner can provide meaningful informed consent
• patient and partner do not have any chronic physical or cognitive illness that would preclude participation in the group sessions
• couple lives within 2 hour commuting distance to the center from which they are recruited

You may not qualify if…

• patient is male

Where it is running

• Christiana Care Health System — Newark, Delaware, United States
• Cooper Health System — Voorhees Township, New Jersey, United States
• Virtua Health System — Voorhees Township, New Jersey, United States
• Bryn Mawr Hospital — Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, United States
• Fox Chase Cancer Center — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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