RATIONALE: Gathering information over time from patients who have finished treatment for colorectal cancer may help doctors predict which cancer survivors will improve their physical activity and diet.

PURPOSE: This clinical trial is studying health behaviors in patients who have finished treatment for stage I, stage II, or stage III colorectal cancer.

OBJECTIVES:

Primary

• To characterize patterns and identify predictors of post-treatment physical activity and dietary changes made by colorectal cancer survivors.

Secondary

• To identify the affective and cognitive effects of post-treatment physical activity and dietary changes in these patients.
• To identify these patients' preferences regarding diet and physical activity health promotion programs.

OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study.

Patients complete surveys at baseline and at 3 and 6 months. A randomly selected subset of 84 patients also receive an activity monitor to be use at each of the 3 time points. The acceptability of their use is assessed and whether activity levels change across the 3 time points and the extent to which they are convergent with self-reported physical activity are examined.

During each survey, questionnaires are administered to assess the following areas: physical/medical characteristics (self-reported), self-efficacy for physical activity, fruit and vegetable consumption, and dietary fat intake; outcome expectations for physical activity, fruit and vegetable consumption, and dietary fat intake; physical activity and diet behavioral self-regulation; illness representations (causal attributions and controllability of recurrence); perceived risk of colorectal cancer (CRC) recurrence; emotional representations of CRC (cancer-related anxiety and worry about cancer recurrence); healthcare provider recommendations to alter physical activity and dietary intake; social influence from important others; current physical activity and dietary intake; and diet and physical activity program preferences. Patients who received the activity monitor are asked feedback on acceptability of them.

Measures of sociodemographics and disease/treatment characteristics (via medical chart review) are recorded.

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Diagnosis of localized or regional colorectal cancer

  • Stage I, II, or III disease
  • Completed treatment within the past 6 weeks

• No previous diagnosis of colorectal cancer

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

• English speaking
• No current evidence of neoplastic disease except for nonmelanoma skin cancer
• No evidence of severe cognitive impairment

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• See Disease Characteristics

colorectal cancer