Families Fighting Cancer Together

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Purpose – The purpose of this study is to test the usefulness of a family-based program for African American (AA) parents/primary caregivers with newly diagnosed solid tumor or hematologic cancer and their adolescent children. The program is designed to promote family communication to reduce anxiety and depressive symptoms for adolescence.

Study Design – To address the specific aims, we will conduct a randomized controlled trial whereby AA parents newly diagnosed for the first time in the past 24 months of stages 0, I, II, or III solid tumor or hematologic cancer and at least one of their adolescent children between the ages of 11 and 21 living at home who has been told about the parent’s cancer diagnosis will be randomized to 5 sessions of Families Fighting Cancer Together (FFCT) or to 5 sessions of parent-only psycho-education (TAU). Participants will be assessed at entry into the study and prior randomization, post-treatment (8 weeks), and at 6-and 12-month follow-ups.  The 6-and 12-month follow-ups allow us to observe the stability of possible outcomes over time, to examine the pattern of change over time, and to determine if backsliding occurred in either group, which has significance in signaling the need for booster sessions in future studies.  Participants involved in this study will be compensated for their time.

Registered with ClinicalTrials.gov: Protocol # NCT03567330