Poster Presentation 2025 Joint Meeting of the COSA ASM and IPOS Congress

A Digital Storytelling Group for pre-menopausal women with breast cancer: Evaluating the therapeutic potential (126051)

Janet M de Groot 1 , Dana Male 1 , Jessame Gamboa 1 , Fay Strohschein 1 , Laura Labelle 1 , Ana Herrera 2 , Carly-Ann M Haney 3 , Chloe Hao 1 , Kathleen C Sitter 3
  1. Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
  2. Psychosocial Oncology, Arthur JE Child Comprehensive Cancer Centre, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
  3. Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Objective/purpose: Digital storytelling (DST) in healthcare allows patients to share personal experiences through images, music, narration, and sound. Pre-menopausal women with breast cancer convey interest in post-treatment connections to discuss identity changes, and returning to 'normal life'. A pilot clinical DST group treatment was developed to assess for therapeutic benefit.

Our research questions:

1) Assess for psychological benefits

2) Identify therapeutic factors within the DST group. 

Sample & Setting: Pre-menopausal women with breast cancer were recruited via the Tom Baker Cancer Centre and Wellspring Calgary.

Procedures: A concurrent mixed methods design was used. Non-parametric analysis assessed for pre- and post-DST group changes in depression (PHQ-9), quality of life (EORTC), and PTSD symptoms (PCL-5). Thematic analysis was used to analyze audiotaped transcribed participant interview data.

Results: On DS group pilot study completion, women (n=7) with premenopausal breast cancer showed a mean reduction of PCL-5 scores of 9.7 (17.8), a clinically significant improvement with a moderate effect size (0.75). Participants found shared emotions enhanced relatability among group members. Most felt overwhelmed in developing a story about their cancer diagnosis and treatment, and navigating the healthcare system. Facilitator and group support helpfully contributed to processing emotions to allow digital story completion. Subsequently, participants felt calmer, more at peace and described gaining the capacity to share their experiences more concisely.

Conclusion and clinical implications: This pilot study conveys promising findings for the therapeutic potential of DST groups among women with premenopausal breast cancer and uniquely found a clinically meaningful reduction in trauma symptoms. These findings require larger-scale (n> 100) multi-site replication to evaluate the therapeutic potential of group and self-directed DS interventions for diverse, young adult (18 to 39 years) women with pre-menopausal breast cancer to assess for statistically and clinically significant therapeutic benefit across various psychological domains.