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The best "support groups" live up to their name by offering emotional and spiritual support to participants. They have also been shown to improve the quality of life of patients with illness and those who are recovering.

Cancer survivors—especially breast cancer survivors—are in a special category because of the internal turmoil and feelings of guilt they often carry.

Recognizing that, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Cancer Institute Office of Cancer Survivorship has awarded Thomas Jefferson University a $2 million grant to study how two different types of support group programs improve health-related quality of life and decrease stress in women with cancer.

The two group programs are:

• a standardized breast cancer support group program that emphasizes informing and educating participants on a range of topics relevant to having a breast cancer diagnosis and
• Mindfulness-Based Art Therapy, a newly developed cancer support group program that emphasizes stress reduction through mindfulness techniques and creative tasks.

Breast cancer patients will be randomized to either program. The program will also include women who were diagnosed with cancers other than breast cancer.

This study continues the work of a previous NIH grant that assessed the intervention, demonstrating highly significant improvements in symptoms of psychological distress and quality of life in a group of women with various cancer diagnoses.

“The overall goal of this work is to empower patients with innovative ways of coping and to help them achieve a positive outlook at a time when things may not seem so rosy,” said Daniel Monti, M.D., principal investigator.

A total of 339 women will be enrolled in the two support group programs; 226 with breast cancer and 113 with other cancer diagnoses. The two programs will be compared on measures of psychological distress and key aspects of health-related quality of life as well as comparisons of potential changes in the immune system. Each group program will meet once weekly for eight weeks. They will be free to participants.

The study allows us to investigate these programs in a way that has not been done before, explains Dr. Monti, who is also director of the Center for Integrative Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. Both programs have proven efficacy. The questions center around the advantages one program may have over the other, and which subgroups of patients benefit most.”

It is often very distressing to receive a diagnosis of cancer, and enduring the available treatments can be a very difficult process. “Both programs provide participants with a venue to help them cope with the distress of a cancer diagnosis, which could be considered a life-threatening illness,” says Kathryn Kash, Ph.D., study co-Principal Investigator. “At the conclusion of the study, we hope to know much more about how to help women with cancer cope better with this significant life event.”

To learn more about the Cancer Support Program Study, please call 1-800-JEFF-NOW.