Level of Concordance Between Proxy and Cancer Patient Ratings in Brief PainInventory.

Background: The objective of this study was to assess whether caregivers serve as valid and reliable proxies for the assessment of a patient's pain level using the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) assessment tool.

Patients And Methods: Twenty-seven patients with cancer with pain, referred for health care management to the Toronto Sunnybrook Regional Cancer Centre and the Sunnybrook and Women's College Health Sciences Centre, and their proxies participated in this study. Patient and proxy completed the BPI independently, with proxies given explicit instructions to rate and answer the questions from the perspective of the patient.

The correlation among patients and health care professionals in assessing functional status using the karnofsky and eastern cooperative oncology group performance status scales.

This study evaluated the correlation between Karnofsky performance status (KPS) and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status (PS) scores assigned by doctors (MDs), nurses (RNs), radiation therapist (RTT), radiation therapy student (RTS), and patients (PTs) in assessing functional status of patients with cancer. Patients admitted to the general oncology and palliative care wards at our institution participated in the study. Data were gathered from survey forms completed by MDs, RNs, RTT, RTS, and PTs.

Evaluation of an educational program for the caregivers of persons diagnosed with a malignant glioma.

Background: Caring for a loved one with a malignant glioma can be a formidable responsibility. The guarded prognosis, side effects of treatments, and changes in brain function, personality and behaviour pose unique challenges in care provision by family members. It is rare that institutions provide educational programs for caregivers.