Meaning-Centered Counseling for Chinese Patients Who Are Being Treated for Advanced Cancer

Eligibility Criteria

• * Non-US born;
• * Of Chinese descent;
• * Age 21 years through 80 years;
• * Language spoken: Mandarin and/or English
• * Diagnosis of Stage IV cancer (any type).
• * Stage III or IV cancer (per self-report or on the MSKCC EMR). If traditional staging does not apply (i.e. for leukemia), we can allow patient deemed by provider to have poor prognosis/roughly equivalent to Stage III or IV to be referred.
• * Age 18 or older
• * Of Chinese descent
• * Mandarin-speaking
• * Have an estimated life expectancy of at least 6 months (per self-report or on the MSKCC EMR)
• * Resides in New York State or New Jersey
• * Stage III or IV cancer (per self-report or on the MSKCC EMR). If traditional staging does not apply (i.e. for leukemia), we can allow patient deemed by provider to have poor prognosis/roughly equivalent to Stage III or IV to be referred.
• * Age 18 or older
• * Of Chinese descent
• * Mandarin-speaking
• * Have an estimated life expectancy of at least 6 months (per referring physician assessment or on the MSKCC EMR)
• * Resides in New York State or New Jersey
• * Presence of cognitive impairment disorder (e.g., delirium or dementia) sufficient to preclude meaningful informed consent and/or data collection. The Chinese version of the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) (46) will be used as a cognitive screening tool. Patients with MMSE scores below 20 will be excluded. For English speaking patients we will use the English version of the MMSE.
• * Has a household member who has already participated (or agreed to participate).
• * Previous participation in Phases 1 or 2 of the study
• * Unable/unwilling to use or no access to a telehealth platform (i.e., telephone or videoconference)
• * For participants who express interest in RSMI, unable/unwilling to use Zoom videoconferencing platform
• * Unable or unwilling to commit to up to 16 weeks to complete 6-session intervention and follow-up assessments
• * Major psychiatric illness or cognitive impairment that in the judgment of study investigators or study staff would preclude study participation
• * Patients diagnosed with primary brain tumors (per self-report or on the MSKCC EMR), as they may have difficulty completing the intervention and answering questionnaires
• * Undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) (per self-report or on the MSKCC EMR)
• * Currently in psychotherapeutic treatment (patients being treated with psychotropic medications will not be excluded, as long as they are not in psychotherapy; per self report)
• * Previous participation in Phases 1, 2, or 3 of the study
• * Unable/unwilling to use or no access to the Zoom videoconferencing platform (required for RSMI)
• * Unable or unwilling to commit to up to 16 weeks to complete 6-session intervention and follow-up assessments
• * Major psychiatric illness or cognitive impairment that in the judgment of study investigators or study staff would preclude study participation
• * Patients diagnosed with primary brain tumors (per self-report or on the MSKCC EMR), as they may have difficulty completing the intervention and answering questionnaires
• * Undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) (per self-report or on the MSKCC EMR)
• * Currently in psychotherapeutic treatment (patients being treated with psychotropic medications will not be excluded, as long as they are not in psychotherapy; per self report)