Healing Gardens: a mobile game-based program to help adults with advanced cancer manage pain
Official title: Healing Gardens: Leveraging serious games to deliver accessible pain-CBT and pharmacologic support for patients with advanced cancer managing pain
Funded at Dana-Farber Cancer Inst · NIH-11444947 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A patient-friendly program uses a playful, phone-based game and coping tools to help adults with advanced cancer reduce pain and use medicines and strategies more effectively.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Dana-Farber Cancer Inst NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | August 1, 2026 |
| Project end | July 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $340,737 |
| NIH project number | 1R34CA308746-01A1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11444947 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults 21 years or older with advanced cancer who experience chronic pain and are open to using a mobile health app.
✕Less likely to help
Patients without access to smartphones or who are unable to use mobile apps may not benefit from this specific digital approach.
What this research studies
If you have advanced cancer and pain, this project adapts a pain-management plan into a mobile app with serious games, education, and symptom tracking. It builds on cognitive-behavioral therapy principles to support self-management while addressing the burdens of treatment and disease. The team will refine and test the app in a pilot study to see how well it works and how patients interact with it in real life. This work aims to fit into patients’ busy lives and varying health statuses, making pain care more accessible. The goal is to prepare for a future larger study that could prove the approach helps people feel better and function more despite cancer.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, patients with advanced cancer could experience better pain control and improved quality of life through an engaging, accessible digital tool.
How similar studies have gone: Previous pain-CBT work shows benefits, and mobile app formats have high engagement in some chronic pain populations, but this exact combination for advanced cancer is still being tested.
Where this research is happening
-
Dana-Farber Cancer Inst
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Hilton, Desiree R — Dana-Farber Cancer Inst
- Study coordinator: Hilton, Desiree R
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.