Ringing a Bell on the Final Day of Radiation Therapy in Improving the Memory of Distress in Cancer Patients

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: I. To determine if the simple act of ringing a bell at the end of radiotherapy can improve the retrospective evaluation of distress due to radiotherapy and other prior cancer therapy. SECONDARY OBJECTIVES: I. To measure the severity of patients' memory of distress from cancer treatment. II. To assess the relationship between anxiety to actual distress and to remembered distress. III. To assess the relationship between optimism-pessimism personality to actual distress and to remembered distress. IV. To assess patient's cognitive dissonance reduction to actual distress and to remembered distress. OUTLINE: Patients are assigned to 1 of 2 groups. GROUP A (No bell ringing): Patients undergo standard of care radiation therapy with or without chemotherapy. GROUP B (Bell ringing): On the final day of standard of care radiation therapy, patients ring a bell in the clinic. After completion of study, patients are followed up for 7 months.