Buddy Relationships in DermatoloGic Excisions for Skin Cancer

Plain-language summary

More than 5 million skin cancer surgeries are performed each year in the United States with 80% of tumors appearing on the head and neck. Facial skin cancer diagnosis negatively affects patient quality of life (QOL) and treatment of skin cancer creates visible scars early in the postoperative period, increases anxiety, and impairs social interactions. We believe that these negative psychosocial changes represent an unmet need for additional social support and practical guidance. A one-to-one peer support program designed for skin cancer patients could provide a focused, cost-effective, patient-centered intervention to improve quality of life and increase satisfaction. Comparable one-to-one peer support programs have demonstrated high rates of patient satisfaction and positive QOL outcomes in a wide range of conditions. This prospective peer support program would be the first of its kind for melanoma and keratinocytic skin cancers. Our pilot program was designed in consultation with leading peer mentorship program researchers and we will implement a structured system to match volunteer mentors with patients. Through qualitative and quantitative data, we will evaluate the program's effect on patient QOL at 3 separate intervals: at initial consultation, 1-2 weeks post-surgery, and 3 months post-surgery. We hope that this study will enable us to design and execute a larger multi-center clinical trial in order to establish a best practice for surgeons to usher patients through the postoperative healing process after skin cancer surgery.

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Trial details