Publications & Presentations

Financial toxicity contributes to psychosocial distress among cancer patients and survivors. We examined associations between financial toxicity and psychosocial wellbeing among rural cancer patients, exploring variability in these linkages by healthcare team communication.

Clinical trials are key to making progress against cancer, yet fewer than 1 in 20 adult cancer patients enroll in clinical trials, and only 3-5% identify as Black or African American (AA). Peer support is an evidence-based practice used in various disease states and is proven to increase patient knowledge, social supports, and care navigation; yet few programs exist within the cancer clinical trial space, and fewer are specific to the needs of Black/AA cancer patients. In Spring 2022, 8 individuals participated in a 12-hour, 6-part virtual training series for Peer Specialists as part of CSC’s Peer Clinical Trials Support Program.

In this report, we highlight recent RTI initiatives from 2020 - 2023, which are driven by both comprehensive enduring needs in the cancer community, such as quality of life, access to care, and financial impact, as well as focused emerging needs, such as those related to COVID-19 and evolving approaches in cancer care, like biomarker testing.

Addressing the psychosocial well-being of people living with HIV (PLHIV) can impact healthoutcomes. While depression and substance use screening is practiced widely, few tools screen for and respond to broader distress and unmet needs. We evaluated the feasibility, acceptability, and short-term outcomes of HIV Support Source (HIVSS), an electronic psychosocial distress screening and referral program for PLHIV. 

Innovations in technology and biomedical treatment are transforming cancer care, yet many patients lack access to quality mental and behavioral health care. Cancer patients face substantial barriers to accessing care for emotional and mental health concerns due to practical barriers and shortages of qualified mental health providers, which have been exacerbated during pandemic conditions.

Cancer SupportSource-Spanish (CSS-Spanish) is a psychometrically robust measure of psychosocial distress among Hispanic and Latino individuals with cancer CSS-Spanish was created using gold-standard methods for translation and an iterative processof testing that included feedback from Spanish-speaking Hispanic and Latino individuals living with cancer and a project advisory board  

The COVID-19 pandemic presents a unique, amplified threat to those living with a cancer diagnosis, but personal factors may play a role in how this affects well-being. This cross-sectional study (1) describes the impacts of COVID-19 on cancer patients’ lives, and (2) explores the extent to which specific impacts of COVID-19 and noted protective factors, hope and resilience, predict two crucial patient-reported outcomes, depression and anxiety, after controlling for relevant sociodemographic and clinical factors.

This study aims to characterize patient experiences with biomarker testing, including history of biomarker testing, related communication and education, self-perceived familiarity and informational needs.

COVID-19 continues to have long-lasting effects on healthcare experiences and health-related quality of life, especially for individuals who are more reliant on frequent medical services, such as those living with a cancer diagnosis. 

Compared to CRC patients diagnosed at an older age, young adult colorectal cancer patients tend to present with advanced tumors, are more likely to receive more aggressive treatments, live with disease and treatment-associated symptoms for longer periods of time, and face the stress of experiencing a life-threatening illness and the financial burden of treatment at a young age.