🏛️ Verified NIH Record • Updated 2026-08-24

Telephone-Based Coaching Sessions (TAC) to Improve Advance Care Planning Participation in Advanced Cancer Patients and Their Support Person (NCT07141407)

Community-Engaged Pilot Testing of Talking About Cancer (TAC) to Improve Engagement in Advance Care Planning

🟢 Recruiting Observational / Diagnostic 🧠 Behavioral & Psychological Program Sponsor: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center

🩺 Plain-English Summary (8th-Grade Level)

This clinical trial studies whether telephone-based coaching sessions, Talking About Cancer (TAC), work to improve engagement in advance care planning (ACP) in patients with cancer that may have spread from where it first started to nearby tissue, lymph nodes, or distant parts of the body (advanced) and their support person. Participation in ACP, which includes having end of life (EOL) care conversations and completing advance directives (e.g., living will, health care proxy, do not resuscitate order), improves quality EOL care. Despite this, less than half of patients with advanced cancer have EOL care conversations or complete advance directives. TAC coaching sessions are delivered by a social worker over the phone. They are designed to help patients and their support person communicate about ACP, manage the distress these conversations can cause, and participate in the process of ACP with a clear action plan of having goals-of-care conversations and completing advance directives. This may be an effective way to improve ACP participation in advanced cancer patients and their support person.

Who can join: To join this study, participants generally need to meet the listed inclusion criteria (8 items) and avoid the listed exclusions (4 items).

Location: Providence Regional Cancer Partnership — Everett, Washington

Age range: 18 Years

🧪 Interventions in This Study

  • Supportive Care (OTHER)
  • Telephone-Based Intervention (BEHAVIORAL)
  • Survey Administration (OTHER)
  • Educational Intervention (OTHER)

📋 "Do I Qualify?" — 1-Minute Self Screener

Instant Checklist

Check every box below. If you can check all of them, you may meet the study's basic screening requirements (final eligibility is confirmed by the site team).

Usually NOT eligible if any of the following apply:

  • Exclusion Criteria:
  • PATIENT: Too ill or weak to complete the interviews (as judged by the interviewer)
  • PATIENT: Receiving hospice at the time of enrollment
  • PATIENT: Younger than age 18

🔍 Extracted verbatim from the official NIH eligibility criteria. Always confirm with the study coordinator.

📍 All Participating Trial Locations (3 Sites)

  • Providence Regional Cancer Partnership — Everett, Washington
  • Skagit Regional Health Cancer Care Center — Mount Vernon, Washington
  • Fred Hutch/University of Washington Cancer Consortium — Seattle, Washington

📞 Contact the Study Coordinator

Phone: (206) 667-4172

Email: mshen2@fredhutch.org

Coordinator details come directly from the registered NIH protocol. Confirm the study is still recruiting before traveling.

💰 Cost, Insurance & Patient Rights

  • 100% Free Items: The investigational treatment and protocol-required procedures are supplied at zero cost by the sponsor.
  • Routine Patient Care: Under federal law (ACA § 2709) and many state statutes, routine care costs are covered during participation.
  • Voluntary Participation: You may withdraw at any time without affecting your standard medical care.

💡 How to Participate

  1. Check the checklist above to see if you may qualify.
  2. Contact the study coordinator using the phone/email above.
  3. Ask about the visit schedule, what is covered at no cost, and any travel support.
  4. Confirm with your own doctor before making a decision.
🏛️ View Official NIH Record ↗