Adolescent Loss: The Impact of Loss on Adolescent Oncology Patients

Completed

Conditions studied: Adolescent Oncology Patients

In brief

Teen loss is not uncommon. Depression, emptiness, disbelief, hopelessness, and guilt are typical responses. How teens with cancer cope with the loss of a loved one or a close friend has not been well-studied in the bereavement or oncology literature. This study will describe the impact of loss on teen patients who are on treatment or have recently completed treatment for malignancy. We will look at baseline personality traits and ask teens to identify losses in their life. We will ask questions about coping and meaning-making after loss. A parent will be invited to participate -to measure parental awareness of teen loss and determine if parental coping affects teen coping. The inventories have been validated by other researchers.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT01473862

Run by

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

People needed

153

Starts

2012-01-01

Expected to finish

2016-06-01

Last updated by the study team

2016-08-12

Who can join

Age: 13 and older, up to 21. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Age 13-21 inclusive at time of study enrollment
• English speaking
• Research participant carries a diagnosis of a malignancy (or serious non-malignant disorder requiring HSCT) >12 months.
• Research participant carries a diagnosis of a malignancy (or serious non-malignant disorder requiring HSCT) for >6 months and <12 months but has evidence of refractory/progressive disease.
• Patients who have completed cancer-directed therapy >36 months ago are not eligible. (Note: Allogenic transplant recipients will be considered "off-therapy" 1 year after HSCT.)
• No known history of significant cognitive deficits (i.e. with major impairments) that would preclude completion of study measures; not meant to exclude research participants with mild learning problems.
• Research participant and 1 parent willing to participate and provide consent/assent according to institutional guidelines. Parent may decline to participate in parental inventories, but consent to adolescent participation.

You may not qualify if…

• Less than 13-years of age at completion of therapy.
• Patients on hospice who are without scheduled follow-up at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (SJCRH)
• "Observation" patients. Patients that are being followed by imaging due to previous identification of an atypical lesion on radiographic imaging not identified to have a specific diagnosis.

Where it is running

• St. Jude Children's Research Hospital — Memphis, Tennessee, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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