Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in Improving Well-Being in Patients With Stage III-IV Cancer and Their Partners

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To examine the feasibility and acceptability of couples' acceptance and commitment therapy
(ACT) (C-ACT).

II. To collect pilot data on the impact of C-ACT on patients' and partners' anxiety,
depression, and quality of life.

OUTLINE:

Patients and their partners attend 6 weekly ACT sessions over 60-75 minutes. Couples learn
skills of acceptance, avoidance, awareness, values and committed action, mindfulness and
values in relationships, and handling persistent worries and concerns. Patients and their
partners also do homework assignment after each session.

After completion of the study, patients and their partners are followed up at 1 week.

Inclusion Criteria:

- Diagnosed with stage 3 or 4 breast, cervical, colorectal, endometrial, hepatobiliary,
lung, melanoma, gynecological, prostate cancer in the past six months

- Married or cohabiting with a significant other of either gender for more than one year

- At the time of recruitment, a life expectancy of greater than 6 months and/or a
Karnofsky performance status of 80 or above or an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group
(ECOG) score of 0 or 1

- English speaking

- No significant hearing impairment that would prevent participation in sessions

- Live within a 1 hour commuting distance from Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey

Exclusion Criteria:

- Partner cannot have cancer diagnosis (other than non-melanoma skin cancer) and be
currently receiving treatment