Psychospiritual support for people with advanced cancer and their family caregivers
Official title: Psycho-Spiritual Management for Patients with Advanced Cancer and their Family Caregivers
Funded at University of Tx Md Anderson Can Ctr · NIH-11168810 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A four-session family-focused meditation program delivered by videoconference aims to help people with advanced cancer and their family caregivers cope with depression and spiritual distress.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Tx Md Anderson Can Ctr NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Houston, United States) |
| Project start | September 11, 2023 |
| Project end | August 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $664,029 |
| NIH project number | 5R01CA276035-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11168810 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with advanced or metastatic cancer who have a willing family caregiver and can participate in videoconference sessions are ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People without a willing caregiver, those with early-stage cancer, or those unable to use videoconferencing may not benefit from this specific program.
What this research studies
You and a family caregiver would join a study where dyads are randomly assigned to a four-session family-focused meditation program, a usual-care group, or a matched social-support program. Sessions are delivered by videoconference so you can join from home. The team will measure mood, spiritual well-being, and how distress is shared between patients and caregivers before and after the program. The study will recruit families from multiple hospitals, including MD Anderson in Houston, to include diverse participants.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the program could reduce depressive and spiritual distress for both patients with advanced cancer and their caregivers.
How similar studies have gone: Prior pilot work and other positive-psychology approaches show promise, but fully powered dyadic palliative interventions like this are still limited.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Tx Md Anderson Can Ctr
Houston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Milbury, Kathrin — University of Tx Md Anderson Can Ctr
- Study coordinator: Milbury, Kathrin
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Helping Advanced Cancer Patients and Families Plan Ahead with a Resilience-Building Web Program
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Web program to help people with advanced cancer and their caregivers talk about future medical wishes
This project tries a web-based resilience program to help adults with advanced cancer and their family caregivers talk about future care and complete advance directives.
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Psycho-Spiritual Support for Patients with Advanced Cancer and Their Family Caregivers
A program tests a four-session, family-focused meditation delivered by video to help people with advanced cancer and their caregivers feel less depressive and spiritually distressed.
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Caregivers and Patients Support for Advanced Cancer
A doctor-in-training is developing a telehealth five-session program to help patients with advanced cancer and their caregivers manage their psychosocial needs and quality of life.
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Helping Families Support Loved Ones with Advanced Cancer in Making Health Decisions
This project offers a program to teach family caregivers of people with advanced cancer how to best support their loved ones when making important health choices.
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Early palliative support by trained lay coaches for caregivers of people with advanced cancer
This program offers early palliative support from trained lay coaches to help under-resourced family and friend caregivers of people newly diagnosed with advanced cancer.
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.