Mindfulness Meditation Intervention for Colorectal Cancer Patients and Caregivers

A metastatic cancer diagnosis is associated with high levels of distress in both patients and caregivers. The investigators hypothesize that an audio-based mindfulness intervention will be an effective means to reduce distress and improve quality of life among patients with advanced cancer and their caregivers. With the Being Present study, conduct an 8-week single arm study among UCSF patients with metastatic colorectal cancer undergoing chemotherapy and caregivers of these patients (44 participants total). Participants will receive an informational booklet containing a practice log and a MP3 player containing an introductory lecture and guided meditations. Practice reminders will be sent via text messages. Emails will contain practice assignments and links to validated survey instruments. The survey instruments (National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Distress Thermometer and National Institutes of Health (NIH) Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) adult short forms) will measure global health, anxiety, depression, fatigue, and sleep quality before, during, and after the intervention to obtain preliminary estimates of the efficacy of the intervention among patients and caregivers on self-reported outcomes. Qualitative data will be collected from pre- and post-intervention interviews.