Carolina Senior: UNC Registry for Older Cancer Patients

OBJECTIVES:

Primary

• To create a registry (to be called "Carolina Senior") of older patients with an appointment at North Carolina Cancer Hospital.
• To have these patients complete a Geriatric Assessment (GA).

Secondary

• To measure the response rates of GAs of Carolina Senior patients and their satisfaction with a GA by measuring the percentage of patients contacted who consent to complete the GA; the percentage of patients able to complete the self-administered portion of the GA without assistance; the length of time necessary to complete the GA; the variance and number of missing items; the percentage of GAs that contain all 3 of the following items: Timed Up and Go Assessment, Blessed Orientation-Memory-Concentration Test, and healthcare professional-rated Karnofsky performance status; and patient satisfaction with the questionnaire by identifying items that are distressing or too difficult to comprehend.
• To gather information, including patterns of patient care, that would lend support for future research in the 'Carolina Senior' population who receive a confirmed diagnosis of cancer (except for nonmelanoma skin cancer, cervical carcinoma in situ without evidence of disease, or prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia without evidence of prostate cancer).