ArticleSupportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer2021
A structured expressive writing activity targeting body image-related distress among head and neck cancer survivors: who do we reach and what are the effects?
Article in Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Online self-compassion-based interventions on patient outcomes in patients with cancer: a systematic review.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Pooled it
- Efficacy of a brief cognitive behavioral therapy for head and neck cancer survivors with body image distress: secondary outcomes from the BRIGHT pilot randomized clinical trial.Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice · 2025Trial
- The Effect of Expressive Writing on the Experiences of Head and Neck Cancer Patients Undergoing Radiotherapy: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Cancer medicine · 2025Trial
- Mechanism underlying a brief cognitive behavioral treatment for head and neck cancer survivors with body image distress.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2023Trial
- Efficacy of a Brief Tele-Cognitive Behavioral Treatment vs Attention Control for Head and Neck Cancer Survivors With Body Image Distress: A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA otolaryngology-- head & neck surgery · 2023Trial
- Psychological Interventions for the Treatment of Patients with Chronic Dermatoses: A Systematic Literature Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Expressive writing interventions in patients with cancer: A scoping literature review.Palliative & supportive care · 2025Article
- Protocol for a multisite, parallel-group, randomized clinical trial comparing a brief tele-cognitive behavioral therapy intervention (BRIGHT) with attention control for the reduction of body image-related distress among head and neck cancer survivors.Contemporary clinical trials · 2025Article
- Efficacy of a Brief Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Head and Neck Cancer Survivors with Body Image Distress: Secondary Outcomes from the BRIGHT Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial.Research square · 2023Article
- Optimizing Function and Appearance After Head and Neck Reconstruction: Measurement and Intervention.Otolaryngologic clinics of North America · 2023Review
- Psychological Survivorship in Head and Neck Cancer.Seminars in plastic surgery · 2023Review
- The Psychosocial Role of Body Image in the Quality of Life of Head and Neck Cancer Patients. What Does the Future Hold?-A Review of the Literature.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2021Review
- Association of Inventory to Measure and Assess imaGe Disturbance - Head and Neck Scores With Clinically Meaningful Body Image-Related Distress Among Head and Neck Cancer Survivors.Frontiers in psychology · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeThe aim of this pretest-posttest study was to investigate the reach and effects of My Changed Body (MyCB), an expressive writing activity based on self-compassion, among head and neck cancer (HNC) survivors.
methodsThis pilot study had a pretest-posttest design. HNC survivors received an invitation to complete a baseline survey on body image-related distress. At the end of the survey, HNC survivors were asked if they were interested in the intervention study. This entailed the writing activity and a survey 1 week and 1 month post-intervention. The reach was calculated by dividing the number of participants in the intervention study, by the number of (1) eligible HNC survivors and (2) those who filled in the baseline survey. Linear mixed models were used to analyze the effect on body image-related distress. Logistic regression analysis was used to investigate factors associated with the reach and reduced body image-related distress. MyCB was evaluated using study-specific questions.
resultsThe reach of MyCB was 15-33% (depending on reference group) and was associated with lower education level, more social eating problems, and fewer wound healing problems. Among the 87 participants, 9 (10%) showed a clinically relevant improvement in body image-related distress. No significant effect on body image-related distress was found. Self-compassion improved significantly during follow-up until 1 month post-intervention (p=0.003). Users rated satisfaction with MyCB as 7.2/10.
conclusionMyCB does not significantly improve body image-related distress, but is likely to increase self-compassion, which sustains for at least 1 month.
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