FORT-AeYA
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Brooke Russell is a clinical psychologist and postdoctoral fellow at the University of Ottawa. She received her PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Calgary in 2024. Her research interests focus on fear of cancer recurrence and other psychosocial outcomes for survivors of childhood cancer.
She is currently working on adapting the Fear of Cancer Recurrence Therapy (FORT) intervention for adolescent and early young adult survivors of childhood cancer. Her clinical interests are in clinical, health, and rehabilitation psychology and she has a small clinical practice seeing children, teens, and young adults with cancer.
Drs. Russell and Lebel (alongside other clinical psychologists, physicians, and seven patient partners), are currently developing the fear of recurrence therapy intervention for adolescent and early young adult survivors of childhood cancer (FORT-AeYA).
The team is currently working on adapting the original FORT program and materials. Next, they will test FORT-AeYA with a small group of 9 survivors (ages 13-25) to see if the program is easy to use and understand. After making final adjustments, they will run the program with two more groups of 9 survivors (ages 13-25) to help determine whether people want to participate and whether they find it helpful.
This project is one of the first to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a fear of recurrence intervention for survivors of childhood cancer. This will help bridge an important gap in bringing evidence-based care for fear of cancer recurrence to young survivors.
This work is generously supported by funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada, and the pan-Canadian pediatric cancer network: ACCESS.
FAQs
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Fear of cancer recurrence (FCR) is the fear, worry, or concern that cancer may come back or progress. We recognize that AeYAs may have multiple, varying, and unique worries, such as late effects, secondary cancers, general health, and the future.
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1) People currently aged 13-25 who were diagnosed with any cancer prior to age 18
2) At least 24 months post-treatment
4) A score of 13 or greater on the Fear of Cancer Recurrence Inventory-Short Form or Child version (FCRI-SF or FCRI-C), which will be assessed during an initial interview
5) Access to a computer and internet connection
6) Living in Canada
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Interested participants will be begin the program once 9 people have registered.
Participation will consist of weekly online group therapy sessions for 2 hours for 6 weeks, during which you will be asked to participate in activities, group discussions, and complete homework.
Participants will also be asked to complete a 10-minute questionnaire after each meeting to evaluate the session’s usefulness, usability, desirability, value, accessibility, and credibility.
Finally, an exit interview will be conducted with all participants to better understand their experience.
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Participants will be compensated $20 for completing the exit interview.
By participating in this research, participants may experience a decrease in their fear of cancer recurrence, their cancer-specific distress, their uncertainty in illness, and an increase in their quality of life and their coping.
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Interested participants are encouraged to email the research coordinator, Celeste Holy, at choly@uottawa.ca.