Clinical trial · Interventional
Expressive Writing for the Management of Stress in Cancer Survivors
COVID-19: A Virtual Feasibility Study to Manage Stress
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 8, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260908-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
This clinical trial evaluates the effect of expressive writing for the management of stress in cancer survivors. Cancer diagnosis and treatment are associated with increased stress in cancer survivors related to concerns about family, career, relationships, finances, side effects of treatment, and death. This stress can be further exacerbated by social upheavals such as the COVID-19 pandemic. For safety reasons, many patients are isolated with restricted access to in-person health care and reduced social interaction with family and friends. Together with the economic uncertainties that come with this pandemic, these factors are likely to increase cancer survivors' stress levels. Expressive writing may provide a medium through which cancer survivors confront stressors and find meaning in their experience. The goal of this trial is to learn more about the experiences of cancer survivors during stressful times.
Conditions
Conditions (2)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hematopoietic and Lymphoid Cell Neoplasm | Hematopoietic and Lymphoid Cell Neoplasm | ONTOLOGY_EXACT | 0.98 |
| Malignant Solid Neoplasm | Malignant Solid Neoplasm | ONTOLOGY_EXACT | 0.98 |
Interventions
Interventions (3)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Behavioral Intervention | Behavioral | — | UNRESOLVED |
| Quality-of-Life Assessment | Other | — | UNRESOLVED |
| Questionnaire Administration | Other | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (2)
- type
- EXPERIMENTAL
- label
- Arm I (questionnaires, messages, writing)
- description
- Patients complete questionnaires over 30 minutes about their mood, health, and income at baseline, and 1, 3, and 6 months. Patients also read brief positive messages and write essays about their experiences over 30 minutes (non-stop) QW for 3 weeks.
- interventionNames
- Behavioral: Behavioral Intervention
- Other: Quality-of-Life Assessment
- Other: Questionnaire Administration
- type
- ACTIVE_COMPARATOR
- label
- Arm II (questionnaires, messages, writing)
- description
- Patients complete questionnaires over 30 minutes about their mood, health, and income at baseline, and 1, 3, and 6 months. Patients also read brief neutral messages and write essays about neutral topics over 30 minutes (non-stop) QW for 3 weeks.
- interventionNames
- Behavioral: Behavioral Intervention
- Other: Quality-of-Life Assessment
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 18 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: * At least 18 years old * Have a diagnosis of cancer within the past 3 years * Are able to speak and read in English * Have access to a computer or smart phone with internet connection * All disease sites and all cancer stages are eligible for enrollment Exclusion Criteria: * Inability to provide informed consent * Non-English speakers will be excluded because this is a feasibility study that will enroll only a limited number of participants
References
Publications (1)
- DERIVEDShin-Cho LJ, Dawkins-Moultin L, Choi E, Chen M, Barcenas CH, Roth M, Li Y, Lu Q. Feasibility Trial of an Online Expressive Writing Intervention for Young Adult Cancer Survivors. J Adolesc Young Adult Oncol. 2025 Aug;14(4):328-336. doi: 10.1089/jayao.2023.0187. Epub 2024 Oct 28. PMID 39466058