Psychosocial Adjustment After Radiation Therapy in Patients With Cancer

• Relationship between stress appraisal (as assessed by CAHS at baseline) and psychosocial adjustment (as assessed by PAIS-SR at 1 month after radiotherapy) [ Time Frame: one month after radiotherapy ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  
• Relationship between stress appraisal and uncertainty, symptom distress, cancer stage, comorbidities, age, gender, race/ethnicity, and education at 2 weeks prior to completing radiotherapy [ Time Frame: 2 weeks prior to radiotherapy ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  
• Social support (as assessed by MOS-SSS) and self-efficacy (as assessed by CBI-L v2.0) as moderators of the relationship between cognitive appraisal and adjustment [ Time Frame: At 1 month after completion of radiotherapy ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  

Other: questionnaire administration
Two weeks before completing planned radiotherapy, patients undergo assessment of stress appraisal and other factors predictive of post-radiotherapy psychosocial adjustment. At 1 month after completion of radiotherapy, patients undergo repeat assessment of stress appraisal and psychosocial adjustment.
Procedure: cognitive assessment
Patients complete psychosocial assessments, including measures of patient perceptions of their illness (i.e., cognitive appraisal) and of the factors influencing their perceptions (i.e., uncertainty by the Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Scale-Community Form; symptom distress by the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale Short Form; and comorbidity by the Charlson Comorbidity Index).
Procedure: psychosocial assessment and care
Patients complete psychosocial assessments, including measures of patient perceptions of their illness (i.e., cognitive appraisal) and of the factors influencing their perceptions (i.e., uncertainty by the Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Scale-Community Form; symptom distress by the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale Short Form; and comorbidity by the Charlson Comorbidity Index).
Procedure: quality-of-life assessment
At 1 month after completion of radiotherapy, patients undergo repeat assessment of stress appraisal and psychosocial adjustment.

OBJECTIVES:

• To describe psychosocial adjustment after radiotherapy in patients with stage I, II, or III breast, colorectal, lung, or prostate cancer.
• To determine if cognitive appraisal of health predicts psychosocial adjustment of these patients after radiotherapy.
• To examine whether social support moderates the relationship between cognitive appraisal of health and psychosocial adjustment of these patients after radiotherapy.
• To examine whether self-efficacy for coping with cancer moderates the relationship between cognitive appraisal of health and psychosocial adjustment of these patients after radiotherapy.
• To measure the effect of symptom distress, uncertainty, medical factors, and personal factors on cognitive appraisal of health of these patients before ending radiotherapy.

OUTLINE: Two weeks before completing planned radiotherapy, patients undergo assessment of stress appraisal and other factors predictive of post-radiotherapy psychosocial adjustment. Patients complete psychosocial assessments, including measures of patient perceptions of their illness (i.e., cognitive appraisal) and of the factors influencing their perceptions (i.e., uncertainty by the Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Scale-Community Form; symptom distress by the Memorial Symptom Assessment Scale Short Form; and comorbidity by the Charlson Comorbidity Index). Measures of patient social support and self-efficacy for coping are also assessed. At 1 month after completion of radiotherapy, patients undergo repeat assessment of stress appraisal and psychosocial adjustment.