None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
The study is attempting to gain an understanding of what is being experienced by individuals following cancer therapy in order to establish interventions where required to improve quality of life and therapeutic management. Who is it for? You may be eligible to join this study if you are aged over 18 years, diagnosed with any cancer and will complete cancer therapy during the final two weeks of this trial’s recruitment phase. The trial involves a set of three questionnaires at 3-monthly time intervals and an interview. Where warranted, allied health professionals will assess and assist participants to manage their concerns after cancer therapy. Assessments will be conducted using questionnaires and interviews. The allied health professionals assessing the participants may include counsellors (to help participants with specific concerns such as establishing reciprocal understanding with family and friends regarding health issues being faced following therapy and the effects on lifestyle), physiotherapists (to help participants with managing physiological concerns such as lymphoedema), dieticians (to aid participants with concerns about weight and/or dietary balance), dermatologists (for concerns such as skin irritations), exercise physiologist (to assist with appropriate exercise to aid in recovery), social worker (to help participants manage lifestyle changes related to social networks), and psychologist (to aid with concerns such as depression). Outcomes of allied health professional assessments will enable appropriate intervention to be designed within a survivorship plan. The determination of the requirement for intervention will be based on results from assessment of changes in fatigue, fear of cancer returning, depression, coping with home/work duties, and learning to live with ‘new normal’ in participants in comparison to baseline information.
Interventions
Interventions include involvement of allied health professionals to assess and assist the patient to manage patient concerns, where warranted. Allied health professionals may include counsellors (help participants with specific concerns e.g. establishing reciprocal understanding with family and friends regarding health issues being faced following therapy and the effects on lifestyle, physiotherapists to manage physiological concerns e.g. lymphodoema, Dieticians to aid with concerns around weigh
Interventions include involvement of allied health professionals to assess and assist the patient to manage patient concerns, where warranted. Allied health professionals may include counsellors (help participants with specific concerns e.g. establishing reciprocal understanding with family and friends regarding health issues being faced following therapy and the effects on lifestyle, physiotherapists to manage physiological concerns e.g. lymphodoema, Dieticians to aid with concerns around weight and/or dietry balance, Dermatologists where skin irritations persist or occur independently for other reasons, Exercise physiologist, if required to assist with appropriate exercise to aid in recovery, Social Worker to help participants manage lifestyle changes related to social networks, Psychologist if required for concerns such as depression. Outcomes of allied health professional assessments will enable appropriate intervention to be designed within a survivorship plan. Determination of the requirement for intervention is based on results from assessment of changes in each of the symptoms (fatigue, fear of cancer returning, depression, coping with home/work duties, learning to live with ‘new normal’), from baseline information. The timeframe is dependent on whether assessments from allied health professionals are warranted Participants in this trial will be followed up until 30 months from recruitment
Sponsors
The Riverina Cancer Care Centre
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Other
Primary purpose
Educational / counselling / training
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Adult patients older than, 18 years of age Histological proven cancer (all tumour types) Male or Female Ability to comprehend questionnaire alone (or in juxtaposition with proxy, from commencement, in specific patients with acutely declining trajectory prediction) Willingness to participate in a questionnaire-based study Informed consent Completed therapy during final two weeks of recruitment
Exclusion criteria
Life expectancy predicted to be less than 6 months if not assisted by proxy/carer
Outcome results
None listed