Cancer Survivorship

Over 18 million cancer survivors live in the US, and numbers are growing as treatments improve and the population ages. This important group has experienced a life-threatening illness and often undergone arduous treatments. Our work focuses on the other side of cancer—how people make meaning of their experiences of cancer and how those experiences have changed them and continue to influence them. We are currently funded by NCI to conduct a longitudinal study of cancer survivor resilience trajectories in multiple domains across the transition from active treatment to survivorship.

 

Selected Publications:

Carney, L. M., Park, C. L., & Hingorany, P. (2023). The mechanisms of mindfulness-based stress reduction and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for cancer patients and survivors: A systematic review. Psychology of Consciousness: Theory, Research, and Practice.

Park, C. L., Fritzson, E., Gnall, K. E., Salafia, C., Ligus, K., Sinnott, S., & Bellizzi, K. M. (2021). Resilience across the transition to cancer survivorship. Research in Human Development, 18(3), 197-211.

Park, C. L., Dibble, K. E., Sinnott, S., Sanft, T., &. Bellizzi, K. M. (2020). Resilience trajectories of cancer survivors: A meaning-making perspective. In B. Altmaier (Ed.), Navigating life transitions for meaning (pp. 129-145). New York, NY: Elsevier.

Our current NIH/NCI-funded study recruits patients at Smilow Cancer Center.