Enhancing Hope Among Patients With Poor-Prognosis Breast Cancer and Oncologists

The aim of the proposed research is to study the impact of hope interventions on the coping behavior of women with advanced breast cancer and physicians who provide care to patients with cancer. It is the investigator's contention, that improved hopefulness among cancer patients can be manifest in improved Quality of Life (QOL). The challenge is to find specific interventions that can optimize hopefulness and thereby direct individuals to adopt behavior styles that contribute to a positive effect on QOL. Two separate single-day interventions and hope applications will be developed for patients and oncologists, respectively. What will be common for each workshop is that there will be an experienced counselor designated as "coordinator" who will be in charge of implementing the program and monitoring group dynamics. The interventions will be structured with the program advancing from the identification of goals to the development of directions reasonable pathways for achieving the delineated goals. In addition to goal-directed exercises, the workshop will employ narrative techniques which utilize literary triggers as a springboard for reflective writing. The smartphone-based application will prompt study participants on a daily basis to engage in additional, short activities designed to augment hopefulness, assess progress in achieving goals, and identifying challenges. In addition, the application will allow sustained interaction of workshop participants through social media exchange. Course materials will be sent to study participants one week prior to the conduct of the workshop. Baseline assessment of hopefulness will be carried out via the aforementioned validated scales on the day of the workshop. Re-assessment of hopefulness will occur at the end of the day and at the 3- month interval visits.