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Recent Conference

April 15, 2025

My update is a little late, but I had an absolute blast at the American Psychosocial Oncology Conference in Pittsburgh (held March 5 - 7). Not only did I present a poster based on recent research (details below), but I was fortunate to meet a lot of really excellent psychosocial oncology scholars, hear some wonderful research presentations, and get more energized than ever about our field. I was also inspired to join the APOS Research Committee after the conference. 

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On a personal note, it was also great to be back in the Steel City, see some extended family, and take in the view from Mt. Washington! Too bad it wasn't warm enough to go to Kennywood!

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​About the poster: 

The study is a (very!) collaborative effort among the members of the Section of Pediatric Population Science, Outcomes, and Disparities Research at the Rutgers Cancer Institute. We surveyed childhood, adolescent, and young adult (CAYA) cancer survivors, their siblings, and their parents about their needs and quality of life.

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Siblings of CAYA survivors had high levels of unmet needs, and those unmet needs were statistically significantly associated with higher levels of post-traumatic stress symptoms, fear of cancer recurrence, and depressive symptoms. 

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Use the link below to the left to download a copy of our poster and our reference list for further reading! 

Dr. Collins presented at APOS 2025

New Publication

April 26, 2024

My newest publication went live yesterday on the Journal of Psychosocial Oncology's website! 

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I'm so excited to share this first of two empirical studies related to a survey conducted with young adult cancer survivors about their use of entertainment media narratives (e.g., television shows, movies, and books). I found that, compared to nonusers, YACS who used entertainment media narratives to cope with their cancer were: 

  • Significantly younger

  • Significantly newer survivors

  • More likely to report identifying as Black or African American

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I also found that more than 50% of YACS reported using an entertainment media narrative to start a conversation about their cancer experience with: ​

  • Friends

  • Family members

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What does all of this mean for survivors trying to cope with their cancer experience? Click on the link below to access the article and read my discussion section for yourself! 

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