Pain Management for Head and Neck Cancer Survivors

Survivors of Head and Neck Cancer: Optimizing Pain Management

This clinical trial improves an existing pain management program and tests its effect on head and neck cancer survivors. This trial aims to find a better program to improve pain-related physical functioning, mood, and quality of life in a sample of individuals who have undergone treatment for head and neck cancer.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

I. Adapt an existing telehealth pain management intervention to target improvement of pain-related physical functioning, mood, substance use, and quality of life in a local sample of veteran head and neck cancer (HNC) survivors.

II. Conduct a pilot of the adapted intervention to examine the feasibility (accrual, adherence, attrition) and acceptability (participant satisfaction) that will form the basis of a well-powered, randomized clinical trial submitted for funding to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), American Cancer Society (ACS), or Veterans Affairs (VA).

OUTLINE:

Patients attend 5 sessions of Mobile Pain Coping Skills Training for 45 minutes each over 8 weeks.

After completion of study, patients are followed up at 2 months.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Clinically confirmed diagnosis of HNC for which the participants have completed curative cancer treatment at the VA hospital or Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) within the 3-12 months following treatment
• Self-reported current pain of 4 or higher, using the 0-10 Numeric Pain Rating (NRS) (0="no pain" to 10="the worst pain imaginable")
• Self-report of pain 4 or higher on two occasions, more than three weeks apart, since the completion of curative treatment

Exclusion Criteria:

• Enrolled in hospice
• Have substantial hearing or visual difficulties that would impair ability to participate
• Have inadequate cognitive functioning as indicated by medical record review and/or interactions with clinical staff. If needed the investigators can follow up with the St. Louis University Mental State Examination (score of < 22/30) (SLUMS); or
• Have untreated severe psychiatric illness that would impact the ability to consent and participate in the intervention
• Had only surgical treatment for their HNC