ASCO Perspective
"When the doctor says cancer, it can bring on a wave of emotions, fear, and uncertainty. Cancer care and treatment must be paired with high-quality psychological support. Online tools are an excellent new way to provide this support to more patients, especially those who otherwise might not have the opportunity to see a therapist," said Don S. Dizon, MD, FACP, ASCO Expert.
CHICAGO - Most patients experience significant distress after they are diagnosed with cancer. This distress not only erodes quality of life, but can also negatively affect the course of the disease and the patient's ability to tolerate treatment.
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Yet, few patients with cancer receive psychological support. A prospective study shows that a web-based stress management program can relieve distress and markedly improve quality of life for patients.
The study will be featured in a press briefing today and presented at the 2017 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting.
"Delivery of psychological support to patients at this early time in the course of their cancer care is hampered with lack of accessibility, time, and resources on both the patient's and the provider's side," said lead study author Viviane Hess, MD, a medical oncologist at the University Hospital of Basel in Basel, Switzerland. "With this online intervention, we aim to close this gap."
About the Intervention
The STREAM intervention is an eight-week, web-based stress management program developed by oncologists and psychologists. The intervention is based upon well-established cognitive behavior approaches used in face-to-face psychotherapy. It covers eight different topics, such as bodily reaction to stress, cognitive stress reduction, feelings, and social interactions. For each weekly topic, participants received written and audio information and then completed exercises and questionnaires.
Psychologists reviewed patients' progress weekly and provided personalized, written guidance and support through a secure online portal. The psychologists were all based in Basel, but patients were located in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. The patients also had the opportunity to write to the psychologists directly through the online program.
This remote therapy model known as "therapist-guided online intervention" is fairly new, although it is already becoming a standard approach for certain psychological disorders such as anxiety, and it appears to be as effective as traditional face-to-face therapy, according to the authors. It is less time consuming for the therapist and more convenient for patients, particularly at the time they are handling many other medical appointments following a diagnosis of cancer.
