Docherty Submits Alex's Lemonade Stand Application

Kudos to Sharron Docherty and her entire team for the submission of her Alex’s Lemonade Stand application entitled "Adolescent- and Parent-Peer Coaching Intervention for Adolescent/Young Adult Cancer Survivors." This proposal requests $300,000 for a three-year period with a start date Feb. 1, 2019.

With improvements in survival for childhood cancer the number of adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer survivors is growing. In the context of increased survival for children who had cancer during school-age or adolescence, the transition to survivorship and adulthood has become increasingly important to address. Regardless of the age of diagnosis and treatment, becoming a successful adult survivor of childhood cancer requires navigating the complex health system, mastering important self-management behaviors, and navigating the complex relationship between the cancer survivor and his/her family.  Survivors of childhood/adolescent cancers face psychosocial and health care disparities compared to survivors treated in early childhood or as adults. They face higher levels of depression and anxiety, PTSD, setbacks in education, behavioral adjustment problems, poorer self-image, psychological distress, are less likely to marry and experience higher lost productivity and annual health care expenditures. As adolescents approach the age in which transition to young adulthood becomes critical (18-21 years), parents are challenged by an urgency to rapidly alter their role from active decision-making agent to one more closely aligned with support and encouragement, while contending with their own conflicting emotions of joy and anxiety related to their child's post-treatment survivorship. A peer-based coaching intervention for AYA cancer survivors and their parents is a novel approach to addressing the challenges of transitioning to adulthood and survivorship for both the adolescent and parent. This intervention utilizes an established telephone/text based secure interface to allow AYA survivors to access the knowledge, experience, and instrumental and emotional guidance from a trained peer coach who has already made this transition and for their parent to receive coaching from a trained, experienced parent.  The purpose of this study is to employ a randomized controlled trial design to pilot test this adolescent and parent peer coaching intervention in a sample of 25 dyads of adolescents and young adults (15 and 21 years), who have completed treatment within the past three years, and their parents compared to an education-only comparison group of 25 dyads. We will evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of this intervention, as well as test for preliminary efficacy trends for AYA cancer survivors and their parents. This study will lead to further refinement and multisite testing of this intervention, which has the potential to be deployed across a range of settings to promote the development of survivorship skills and decrease emotional distress among AYA cancer survivors and their parents.