It is important to have a comprehensive understanding of health issues affecting your patient. Issues to discuss in your baseline rehabilitation interview and/or obtain from the medical record include:
- Past medical history and premorbid conditions
- Current and past cancer treatment
- Current symptoms/exercise limitations/precautions
- Past and current exercise history
- Nutrition status
- Cognition status
- Rehabilitation goals
An example rehabilitation assessment form can be found here.
You may use validated patient reported outcome measure’s (PROMS) to help quantify your patients progress. Below are recommended measures for cancer rehabilitation.
RECOMMENDED SUBJECTIVE MEASURES:
| Item | Instrument | Validity | Reliability | Utility |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health Related QOL | EORTC Quality of Life Questionnaire- Cancer 30, (EOTRC QLQ) | Good | Good – Excellent | 30 items 11 mins |
| Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G) | Good | Excellent | 27 item 5-10 mins |
|
| Fatigue | Brief Fatigue Inventory | Excellent | Good - Excellent | 10 items 3 mins |
| Multi-dimensional Fatigue Symptom Inventory Short Form | Moderate | Excellent | 30 items 10-15 mins |
|
| 10-point Rating Scale for Fatigue | Excellent | Moderate | 1 item 3 mins |
|
| Pain | Visual Analog Scale | Moderate | Excellent | 1 item 2 mins |
| Numeric Rating Scale | Excellent | Excellent | 1 item 2 mins |
|
| McGill Pain Questionnaire – Short Form | Moderate - Excellent | Excellent | 15 items 2-5 mins |
Source: Adapted from APTA Edge Taskforce
*NB some PROMs may have associated licence fees
Further Multidisciplinary Screening