Study of the Therapeutic Use of Language in Patients With Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

Study Overview
=================
Brief Summary
-----------------
The purpose of this study is to determine if the degree of agreement between patients and their physicians regarding the story of the illness correlates with improved patient symptom control and quality of life. Another goal of the study is to examine the actual language used by patients and physicians in a specific clinical situation.

Detailed Description
-----------------
The purpose of this study is to investigate the co-created therapeutic narrative in scheduled office visits between adult patients with metastatic colorectal carcinoma and their medical oncologists in a community practice setting. The study will focus on the negotiation of the illness narrative and the semiotic (primarily linguistic) tools employed. The study will involve patients from a large community cancer center from Northeastern Pennsylvania (this center sees about 3,000 new patients each year). About 85% of patients with cancer in the United States are treated in this type of setting (National Cancer Institute, 2007), and so many results from this population are applicable to most cancer patients in the United States. The location of this study makes it very different from the majority of medical anthropological studies that are usually performed in urban academic medical centers or in sites outside of the United States or Western Europe. Although community cancer centers are the location of most of the treatment of patients with cancer in the United States, there are few to no studies published studying this patient population.

Official Title
-----------------
Critical Negotiations: Narrative Agreement, Negotiation, and Register Use in Encounters Between Patients With Metastatic Colorectal Carcinoma and Their Oncologists

Conditions
-----------------
Colorectal Cancer

Participation Criteria
=================
Eligibility Criteria
-----------------
Inclusion Criteria: Patients and Physicians at Hematology and Oncology Associates of NE Pennsylvania Patients must have metastatic (stage IV) colorectal carcinoma Patients must be on treatment for their disease Patients must be scheduled for re-staging CT scans Patients must be older than 18 years old Exclusion Criteria: Patients with a diagnosis other than metastatic colorectal carcinoma Patients not receiving active treatment or not having re-staging CT scans Patients younger than 18 years old

Ages Eligible for Study
-----------------
Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
-----------------
All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
-----------------
No

Study Plan
=================
How is the study designed?
-----------------

Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| 1<br>Medical Oncologists treating patients with metastatic colorectal cancer | |
| 2<br>Patients with metastatic colorectal cancer receiving re-staging CT scans | |

What is the study measuring?
-----------------
Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Correlation of degree of narrative agreement with validated quality of life measures |  | 6-8 weeks | 

 Terms related to the study
=================
Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
-----------------
Personal Communication, Doctor Patient Relations, Narrative Medicine