# A Multimodal Mind-Body Intervention for Fear of Recurrence among Cancer Survivors

> **NIH NIH K23** · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · 2021 · $157,367

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
This K23 career development award will position the candidate to become an independent clinical researcher
with expertise in refining and testing mind-body interventions for managing fears of illness recurrence and
associated healthcare engagement among medical patients. BACKGROUND. Fear of recurrence (FOR) is a
common, highly distressing difficulty faced by individuals with a history of chronic and/or life-threatening illness.
For example, cancer survivors, a growing population, report clinically-elevated FOR as a chief psychological
concern. Notably, FOR may lead to worsened clinical outcomes, due to maladaptive healthcare engagement
(e.g., avoidance or overuse of follow-up screenings). It is critical to develop evidence-based FOR interventions.
Relaxation skills, mindfulness meditation, cognitive-behavioral skills, and positive psychology techniques are
promising for reducing FOR in cancer survivors, yet trials have been limited by testing these skills in isolation
and among homogenous samples (e.g., breast cancer only). SPECIFIC AIMS. The proposed studies employ
mixed methods designs to: (1) refine a multimodal, mind-body intervention (Relaxation Response Resiliency
Program) to target FOR among cancer survivors via tiered feedback from focus groups, individual interviews,
and an interdisciplinary expert panel, (2) evaluate, in a pilot RCT, its feasibility and acceptability among cancer
survivors with elevated FOR, and (3) explore within-group, longitudinal patterns of FOR, healthcare
engagement, and their covariance across multiple timepoints. TRAINING. The candidate will achieve short-
term goals through a resource-rich institutional environment and a cohesive training plan in (1) clinical trial
design, (2) mixed methods and longitudinal data collection and analysis, and (3) evaluation of healthcare
engagement. In addition to ongoing mentorship meetings and experiential training through the research plan,
the candidate will complete targeted coursework, didactic trainings, and shadowing, present at local and
national conferences, and publish in peer-reviewed journals. MENTORSHIP. The candidate will be supported
by a stellar mentoring team: Elyse R. Park, PhD, MPD (primary mentor), Gloria Y. Yeh, MD, MPH (co-mentor),
Conall O’Cleirigh, PhD (co-mentor), John Denninger, MD, PhD (consultant), Hang Lee, PhD (consultant),
Jeffrey Peppercorn, MD, MPH (consultant), and Lynne Wagner, PhD (consultant). IMPACT. In line with NCCIH
funding priorities, the proposed research will answer critical questions about (1) the feasibility and acceptability
of mind-body approaches for hard-to-manage symptoms and (2) potential mechanisms underlying resiliency.
While initial studies will focus on cancer survivors, it is anticipated that the candidate’s training and research
will have broad applications to a variety of medical populations struggling with uncertainty about illness
recurrence. Through this K23 award, the candidate will gain the training ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10216182
- **Project number:** 5K23AT010157-03
- **Recipient organization:** MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Daniel Lee Hall
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $157,367
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-08-15 → 2024-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10216182

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10216182, A Multimodal Mind-Body Intervention for Fear of Recurrence among Cancer Survivors (5K23AT010157-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10216182. Licensed CC0.

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