Culturally Based Brief Expressive Writing Intervention for the Improvement of Health in Chinese Immigrant Stage 0-III Breast Cancer Survivors, Writing to Heal Study

Writing to Heal: A Culturally Based Brief Expressive Writing Intervention for Chinese Immigrant Breast Cancer Survivors

This clinical trial studies the effect of a culturally based brief expressive writing intervention in improving the health of Chinese immigrant stage 0-III breast cancer survivors. Culturally based brief expressive writing interventions may help researchers learn more about the experiences of Chinese immigrant breast cancer survivors and how writing about their experiences may affect their health.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To determine the health benefits of expressive writing compared with the control condition.

II. To characterize how acculturation moderates the effects of expressive writing interventions.

III. To identify mechanisms explaining the benefits of the interventions using mixed methods.

OUTLINE: Patients are randomized to 1 of 3 arms.

ARM I (CONTROL): Patients write about facts regarding their cancer diagnosis and treatment for 3 weekly 30-minute sessions.

ARM II (SELF-REGULATION): Patients write about stress and coping, emotional disclosure, and benefit finding for 3 weekly 30-minute sessions.

ARM III (SELF-CULTIVATION): Patients write about positive thoughts and feelings regarding their breast cancer experience for 3 weekly 30-minute sessions.

After completion of study, patients are followed up at 6 weeks and at 6 and 12 months.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Being diagnosed with stage 0-III breast cancer.
2. Completed primary treatment, including surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immune therapy, and/or targeted therapy within the preceding 5 years.
3. Foreign-born Chinese women (aged 18 and older) who lived in the U.S. for at least six months in the past.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Exclusion criteria include inability to provide informed consent