LEgal Guidance for Cancer Patients and CAREgivers (LEGACY CARE): A Pilot Clinical Trial.
Kendall Lin, Rachel Kourelis, Milan Khealani et al.
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In 30 seconds
This single-arm pilot clinical trial evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of proactive legal care for patient-caregiver dyads affected by advanced-stage colorectal cancer. Nine of 10 planned dyads enrolled; the intervention offered personalized legal checkups and three-month follow-up at no cost. The study met its predefined benchmarks for initial engagement (16/18, 89%), three-month questionnaire completion (14/18, 78%), and receipt of at least one legal service (14/18, 78%). Most respondents recommended the intervention (12/14, 86%). Legal care identified health-harming legal needs, although caregiver-specific needs were not consistently prioritized.
Key findings
- Initial engagement was 16/18 (89%), three-month questionnaire completion was 14/18 (78%), and 14/18 (78%) received at least one legal service.
- Twelve of 14 participants (86%) recommended the intervention.
- At baseline, 7 of 16 participants reported health-harming legal needs; Cancer Legal Care identified 1.7 additional needs per dyad.
- Dyads described improvements in financial control, support-seeking, and maintaining daily activities, but caregiver-specific needs were not consistently identified or prioritized.
Why it matters
Health-harming legal needs can affect patients and caregivers during cancer care, and participants did not always recognize these needs themselves. This pilot suggests that proactive legal checkups can be delivered and are acceptable to dyads, while highlighting that caregiver needs may require explicit assessment rather than being assumed to align with the patient’s needs.
What to keep in mind
This was a small, single-arm pilot, so it cannot establish comparative efficacy. Follow-up was limited to three months, and caregiver-specific needs were not consistently identified or prioritized.