• Functional status by Karnofsky and ECOG at baseline, 3 months, and 1 year
  
• Co-morbidities by Charlson at baseline
  
• Cognitive status by Short Orientation Concentration Memory Test at baseline, 3 months, and 1 year
  
• Quality of Life (QOL) by SF-12 at baseline
  
• QOL and Symptoms by Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G) at baseline, 3 months, and 1 year
  
• Spirituality by Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy (FACIT)-Sp at baseline, 3 months, and 1 year
  
• Social Support by Shortened Social Support Scale at baseline, 3 months, and 1 year
  
• Satisfaction with care by FACIT-TS-PS at 3 months and 1 year
  
• Mood state by Profile of Mood States at baseline, 3 months, and 1 year
  
• Optimism by Life Orientation Test at baseline
  
• Caregiver Burden by Caregiver Reaction Assessment at baseline, 3 months, and 1 year
  

• Trends over time (mood state, satisfaction, symptoms, QOL, caregiver burden, and cognitive status) for patient and caregiver by the tools listed above at 3 months and 1 year
  

OBJECTIVES:

• Obtain quality of life and psychosocial data from older patients who are undergoing treatment for cancer and from their family caregivers.

OUTLINE: This is a pilot, cross-sectional study.

Patients undergo a 45-minute interview in person or by phone to provide demographic data and to complete quality of life questionnaires, including Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT), Spiritual tool, Quality and Satisfaction with Treatment (QUEST), and Profile of Mood State (POMS), at baseline and at 3 and 12 months. Caregivers undergo a 20- to 30-minute interview in person or by phone to provide demographic data and complete quality of life questionnaires, including the Caregiver Reaction Assessment (CRA), Quest, and POMS, at baseline and at 3 and 12 months. Caregivers complete the Quality of Death and Dying (QODD) questionnaire 2-3 months after the patient's death.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: Not specified