Montrose

Researchers are evaluating the CARES Cancer Advocacy, Resources, Education and Support intervention to see if it improves the time to start treatment after diagnosis and the time to complete treatment for patients with solid tumors such as lung, head and neck, thyroid, cervical, breast, bladder, colon, and rectal cancers. This study focuses on patients living in rural areas and aims to compare the CARES intervention with usual care in a randomized setting. The study will enroll 320 participants who will be randomly assigned to either the CARES intervention or usual care groups. Those in the CARES intervention will receive up to 10 navigation sessions and 10 counseling sessions over approximately six months. These sessions are delivered by oncology nurse navigators and masters level counselors and may be conducted in person, virtually, or by phone. The usual care group will receive a standardized list of resources. All participants will complete surveys at the start of the study, 3 months, and 6 months to assess quality of care and patient-reported outcomes. Participants will be involved for six months during which they will complete surveys assessing their quality of care and personal health experiences. The study team will monitor the time to care from enrollment to study end to evaluate the impact of the intervention. Assessments will be done at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months to gather patient-reported outcomes and quality of care measures. This study is sponsored by the University of Colorado, Denver, and aims to improve care delivery for rural cancer patients.