Williams LifeSkills - Cancer Caregiver Intervention

The purpose of the pilot is to test the feasibility of developing and implementing the Williams LifeSkills Cancer Care (WLSCC) and examining its preliminary impact on caregiver well-being and patient well-being. The study is a two-arm randomized intervention pilot (WLSCC vs. Usual Care \[UC\]) with data collection at baseline, immediately after training, and 2 weeks after completing the training. Study setting is at the breast and thoracic cancer clinics at the Duke Cancer Clinic. A total of 40 cancer patients (20 breast cancer patients and 20 lung cancer patients) and their caregivers (for a total N of 80) will be recruited for the pilot. The WLSCC will involve six 30-minute phone sessions and will encompass the application of 10 psychosocial skills within the context of cancer caregiving. Descriptive statistics will be used to detail recruitment/retention rate, fidelity rate, and the baseline demographic and clinical characteristics for the total sample and each group. Plots of the individual trajectories (within-person scores over time) will be used to identify the pattern(s) of change over time, and assess between-person variability in baseline values (intercepts) and trajectories (slopes). This study carries minimal risk to study participation.

Sex

All

Minimum age

18 Years

Inclusion Criteria:

* Patients are those with a confirmed medical diagnosis of breast or thoracic cancer regardless of stage and followed at DCC for management.
* The cancer diagnosis should have been made less than a year from the next scheduled appointment to the DCC.
* The caregiver is defined as unpaid individuals involved in assisting the cancer patient with activities of daily living and/or medical tasks.
* Patients and caregivers must be able to hear, read, and write in English; oriented to place, person, and time; and have an active telephone service, either cellular or landline.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Excluding patients and caregivers who are less than 18 years of age