Empowered Relief® for Cancer Survivors With Chronic Pain

The Empowered Relief (ER) study is a Zoom-based, 1-session, 2-hour, skills-based pain management class delivered by certified instructors. Participants learn three core pain relief skills, develop a personalized plan, and receive access to a free binaural audio app for daily use and supportive daily text messages. Participants will fill out a series of follow-up surveys at the 1, 2, and 3-month post-class mark. These surveys will be directly compared to surveys given to participants that do not complete the course. Class admittance will be randomized, however, participants not in the treatment group will have the option to take the course after the 3-month observatory period. ER has demonstrated moderate efficacy in individuals with chronic non-cancer pain, reducing pain intensity, pain interference, pain-related distress (pain catastrophizing), sleep disturbance, and anxiety. Because of its brief, didactic nature and delivery via Zoom, ER can accommodate large class sizes and may address access disparities among underserved cancer survivors. ER is currently being studied across various non-cancer populations and has been adopted as standard of care in leading healthcare institutions in the U.S. and abroad. Yet, Empowered Relief has not been tested in cancer survivors.

Inclusion criteria

History of cancer diagnosis, completion of active cancer treatment, cancer free at the time of enrollment, experience of body pain most or every day, pain duration at least 3 months, and English fluency.

Exclusion criteria

Significant psychological and cognitive impairment that limits one's ability to complete study tasks (completion of online survey, attending the zoom-based ER class). Life-threatening acute illness (e.g., infection, heart attack, injury), and no access to a computer, a smartphone or a tablet.