Scholars@Duke
Nicole Arrato

Nicole Arrato

Postdoctoral Associate
Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development
nicole.arrato@duke.edu
2400 Pratt Street, Durham, NC 27705

Selected Publications

Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment for Breathlessness in Lung Cancer: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Journal Article Annals of the American Thoracic Society · October 2025 Rationale: Dyspnea (breathlessness) commonly impacts patients with lung cancer, worsening depression, anxiety, quality of life, and functioning. Current treatments are limited. Objectives: To test the acceptability, feasibility, and prelimina ... Full text Cite

Impact of loving-kindness meditation intervention vs. music intervention during biopsy on adherence to recommended breast cancer screening.

Journal Article Breast Cancer Res Treat · July 2025 PURPOSE: To evaluate the impact of providing a loving-kindness meditation (LKM) intervention vs. a music intervention during core-needle breast biopsy (CNBB) on adherence to subsequent, clinically recommended breast cancer screening and surveillance. METHO ... Full text Link to item Cite

Effectiveness of a Behavioral Activation Intervention for Peripartum Women with Opioid Use Disorder.

Journal Article Journal of clinical psychology in medical settings · March 2025 Pregnant women with opioid use disorder show elevated rates of comorbid mental health problems, both of which are associated with negative health outcomes for mothers and children. There is substantial evidence supporting the benefits of treatment of perin ... Full text Cite

Functional resilience and overall survival in adults treated for advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

Journal Article Lung cancer (Amsterdam, Netherlands) · October 2024 PurposeAs more treatments emerge for advanced, stage IV non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), oncologists have difficulty predicting functional resiliency versus functional decline throughout cancer treatment. Our study evaluates functional resilien ... Full text Cite

Resiliency among older adults receiving lung cancer treatment (ROAR-LCT): A novel supportive care intervention for older adults with advanced lung cancer.

Journal Article Journal of geriatric oncology · September 2024 IntroductionNovel supportive care interventions designed for an aging population with lung cancer are urgently needed. We aimed to determine the feasibility of a novel supportive care physical therapy (PT) plus progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) ... Full text Cite

Adoption as an Alternative Family-Building Strategy: Perceptions of Female, Young Adult Cancer Survivors Receiving Gonadotoxic Treatments.

Journal Article J Adolesc Young Adult Oncol · August 2024 Female survivors of young adult (YA) cancers are at risk of fertility impacts following cancer treatment. For these women, fertility-related distress is both prevalent and persistent. Yet there is little research regarding survivors' perspectives on altern ... Full text Link to item Cite

Improving symptom management for survivors of young adult cancer: rationale and study protocol for a pilot randomized controlled trial.

Journal Article Pilot Feasibility Stud · June 8, 2024 BACKGROUND: Young adult (YA) cancer survivors are a growing, yet underserved population who often face significant and long-lasting cancer-related physical (e.g., pain, fatigue) and emotional (e.g., psychological distress) symptoms. Post-treatment symptoms ... Full text Link to item Cite

COVID-19 or Cancer Stress? Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms in Patients with Advanced Lung Cancer.

Journal Article International journal of behavioral medicine · April 2024 BackgroundOf all cancer patients, those with lung cancer are among the highest risk for infection, pneumonia, hospitalization, and early death from COVID-19. As cancer stress is ubiquitous, this exploratory study examines patients' COVID-19 stress ... Full text Cite

Functional Trajectories and Resilience Among Adults With Advanced Lung Cancer.

Journal Article JTO clinical and research reports · June 2022 IntroductionTo evaluate whether and the degree to which patients with advanced NSCLC (aNSCLC) receiving lung cancer treatments will experience functional disability or have resilience and to identify characteristics associated with functional disa ... Full text Cite

Illness representations and psychological outcomes in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.

Journal Article British journal of health psychology · May 2022 ObjectivesChronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) is a lifelong cancer with subtle symptoms. Treatment is not curative and often involves repeated relapses and retreatments. Illness perceptions - cognitive and emotional representations of illness stim ... Full text Cite

The relationship between cognitive schemas activated in sexual context and early maladaptive schemas among married women of childbearing age.

Journal Article BMC psychology · May 2022 BackgroundHealthy sex can be affected by cognitive schemas activated in the sexual context (CSASCs) and early maladaptive schemas (EMSs). Cognitive schemas are the nuclear structure of the cognitive system which facilitate the interaction between ... Full text Cite

Cancer Treatment During COVID-19: Resilience of Individuals With Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Versus Community Controls.

Journal Article Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network : JNCCN · February 2022 BackgroundAmong all patients with cancer, those with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) experience the most distress. Although new therapies are improving survival, it is unknown whether receiving immunotherapy or targeted therapy during ... Full text Cite

TENSE AND RELEASE: IMPROVING STANDARD OF CARE WITH PROGRESSIVE MUSCLE RELAXATION FOR PATIENTS WITH ADVANCED LUNG CANCER

Journal Article Journal of Cancer Rehabilitation · January 1, 2022 Background Patients with advanced lung cancer experience severe and distressing symptoms, especially anxiety, breathlessness, insomnia, pain, and fatigue. Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) is an empirically supported treatment for reducing psychological ... Full text Cite

Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms and Disorders

Chapter · September 15, 2021 This book provides a clinically useful resource for evaluation and management of the symptoms and issues that burden survivors of breast cancer. ... Cite

Functional Disability Among Older Versus Younger Adults With Advanced Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer.

Journal Article JCO oncology practice · June 2021 PurposeTo determine patient and disease characteristics associated with functional disability among adults with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).MethodsIn a prospective cohort of participants newly diagnosed with advanced NSCLC ... Full text Cite

Cognitive and Behavioral Interventions

Chapter · 2021 "Psycho-oncology, 4th Edition is solemnly dedicated to Professor Jimmie C. Holland, M.D., internationally recognized as the founder of the field of Psycho-oncology. ... Cite

The importance of mental health monitoring during transfer to adult care settings as examined among paediatric transplant recipients.

Journal Article Journal of paediatrics and child health · February 2015 AimAlthough the transfer out of paediatrics is established as a dangerous time for transplant recipients, the reasons for this are not well understood. One possible explanation is that in general, young adulthood is a period of vulnerability to ps ... Full text Cite

Strangers headed to a strange land? A pilot study of using a transition coordinator to improve transfer from pediatric to adult services.

Journal Article The Journal of pediatrics · December 2013 ObjectiveTo compare the impact of a transition coordinator on outcomes for pediatric liver transplant recipients vs a historical comparison group.Study designTo examine the utility of a transition coordinator, medication adherence, as mea ... Full text Cite