A new diagnosis or recurrence of ovarian cancer are highly traumatic events that are deeply distressing for those affected. While high quality medical treatments are routinely available for such conditions, most patients do not receive specialized psychological care at these times and there are great inequities in accessing this kind of care.

This study will examine the benefits of a specially designed psychotherapeutic intervention called Managing Cancer And Living Meaningfully (CALM) that is implemented proactively with patients with newly diagnosed or recurrent advanced ovarian cancer.

CALM has been shown to be effective in relieving distress and improving well-being in patients with advanced cancer closer to the end of life. However, the impact when offered proactively earlier in the advanced disease course to reduce distress, including traumatic stress symptoms, has not yet been shown.

This study will evaluate the effectiveness of CALM in reducing distress and improving the quality of life of patients with newly diagnosed or recurrent advanced ovarian cancer. Exploratory analyses will also examine its effect on the use of aggressive – and often futile – interventions near the end of life.

Patients who agree to participate will be randomly assigned to either receive: 1) usual care or 2) usual care plus CALM therapy. The CALM treatment involves 3-6 counseling sessions (either in person or virtually) with a trained therapist over 3-6 months.

Participants will complete questionnaires measuring distress and well-being at baseline, 3 months and 6 months. A subset of patients will be invited to take part in an interview after their 6-month assessment to better understand their experiences of the disease, its symptoms, treatment-related distress, and their experiences of CALM therapy, if received.