Psychosocial distress and access to resources: Preliminary findings from Immunotherapy & Me.

Abstract

91 Background: Immunotherapy & Me ( IO & Me) is an innovative program of supportive resources developed by Cancer Support Community to investigate and support the unique needs of immunotherapy patients. Here, we describe psychosocial distress and confidence accessing resources among a sample of program participants. Methods: IO & Me is recruiting at 4 community clinics and 1 academic center. Eligible patients must be on an anti-cancer immunotherapy. At enrollment, participants consent, provide demographic/clinical history, and report level of confidence accessing cancer treatment information and resources related to treatment decision making (TDM) and managing symptoms/side effects (SEs). Distress is reported with CancerSupportSource (CSS), a tool where patients rate level of concern on 15 items. Once enrolled, participants can access educational resources (print materials, SE tracker, eLearning courses) and a toll-free helpline staffed by licensed mental health professionals (Cancer Support Helpline). Follow-up surveys are available every 30 days for 6 months. We present data from 68 participants at enrollment and 22 at first follow-up. Results: Participants were 87% White; 69% male; mean age = 65 years (SD = 13). 43% had lung cancer; 22% melanoma; 9% kidney cancer. At baseline, the frequency who felt very or extremely confident accessing resources related to: TDM = 68%; managing SEs = 60%; treatment information = 75%. For distress, top concerns were: fatigue (35% of participants); health insurance/money worries (34%); exercise/physical activity (32%). After 30 days, the frequency who felt confident accessing resources for: TDM = 100%; managing SEs = 91%; treatment information = 100%. Top concerns were: changes/disruptions in work, school, or home life (14%); feeling irritable (9%); sleep problems (9%). Conclusions: Preliminary results show greater variability in distress and confidence accessing resources at baseline than 1-month into the program, at which time few endorse cancer-related concerns and most feel confident accessing resources. These findings highlight the utility of providing patients with educational/support resources and the value of customizable programs like IO & Me. Clinical trial information: NCT03347058.