Rectal Cancer Shared Care

Jewish General Hospital

Status: Enrolling

Conditions: Low Anterior Resection Syndrome; Rectal Cancer

Treatments: Other: Survivorship Care Initiative

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT04966819

2020-1995

Details and patient eligibility

About

The investigators propose a multifaceted rectal cancer survivorship care program involving oncology specialists, nursing support and primary care physicians. This initiative centers on regular meetings with oncology nursing support, enhanced communication and coordination of care among clinicians including primary care physicians, and an educational platform for patients regarding the late and long-term effects of cancer. Initial efforts will target rectal cancer patients specifically as they have been identified as being at high risk of having unmet needs. Once we have realized measurable, successful implementation in this population, our hope is then to expand our initiative to all colon cancer patients.

Full description

Rectal cancer is a life-altering diagnosis that can have long-lasting effects not only on one's physical health, but also their psychological, emotional and financial well-being. With advancements in both disease detection and therapeutic options, there is now a growing cohort of patients who have successfully completed active rectal cancer treatment and transitioned into post-treatment care. Unfortunately, the post-treatment phase has its own set of challenges. Lost in Transition was one of the first major publications to advocate for dedicated survivorship planning, raising awareness of the needs of cancer survivors. Since then, both the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) and the American Cancer Society have released guidelines for survivorship care focused on prevention, surveillance, assessment, intervention, coordination of care and survivorship planning. Despite these efforts to bolster survivorship care, studies have found an average of 2.88 unmet needs among cancer survivors affecting physical, financial, educational, emotional and psychology domains. The investigators propose a multifaceted rectal cancer survivorship care program involving oncology specialists, nursing support and primary care physicians. This initiative centers on regular meetings with oncology nursing support, enhanced communication and coordination of care among clinicians including primary care physicians, and an educational platform for patients regarding the late and long-term effects of cancer. Initial efforts will target rectal cancer patients specifically as they have been identified as being at high risk of having unmet needs. Once the investigators have realized measurable, successful implementation in this population, the hope is then to expand this initiative to all colon cancer patients.

Enrollment: 80 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Adult (>18 years-old)
• rectal cancer patients who underwent curative intent treatment between 2019-2020 (i.e. in the last 2 years), including those who underwent surgical resection (abdominoperineal resection or restorative proctectomy with or without ileostomy) and those managed non-operatively, with chemoradiotherapy will be included.

Exclusion criteria

• Cannot be contacted by telephone
• Unable to read and comprehend English or French;
• Unable to give clear and informed consent.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Supportive Care

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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80 participants in 2 patient groups

Survivorship Care

Experimental group

Description:

Survivorship care will consist of: 1. Regular meetings with the rectal cancer oncology pivot nurse 2. Identification of a primary care physician 3. Development of an individualized survivorship plan 4. Educational resources for patients

Treatment:

Other: Survivorship Care Initiative

Standard Care

No Intervention group

Description:

The control arm will consist of patients treated at the same institution who are receiving standard of care. Standard of care consists of meeting with colorectal oncology pivot nurse as needed (i.e. by referral from specialist based on patient needs).