The Need of Cancer Patients for Rehabilitation Services

OBJECTIVE: To determine the type and prevalence of rehabilitation problems common among cancer patients and to survey the patients' recognition of and need for rehabilitation services. METHOD: The current study was conducted using a questionnaire developed by our rehabilitation team. Five hundred seven cancer patients participated in the survey. RESULTS: The percentage of patients with more than one problem from each physical, psychological, and socioeconomic categories were 87.1%, 48.2%, and 50.9% respectively. Cancer patients with needs of rehabilitation services related to physical, psychological, and socioeconomic problems comprised 77.1%, 84.6%, and 84.8%. However patients who had information about rehabilitation services related to physical, psychological, and socioeconomic problems were 22.7%, 44.7%, and 24.5%. The percentage of patients with actual rehabilitation problems needing rehabilitation services related to physical, psychological, and socioeconomic problems were 65.1%, 52.1%, and 63.6%, but only 18.2% of patients with physical problems and 5.3% of patients with psychological and socioeconomic problems received such services. The prevalence of rehabilitation problems and rehabilitation needs was very high not only in the group still receiving cancer treatment but also in the group which had completed cancer treatment. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that cancer patients have various kinds of physical, psychological, socioeconomic problems differing between cancer types and cancer treatment states with high levels of rehabilitation needs. We contend that the results of this study camay not only be able to aidin the development of appropriate cancer rehabilitation programs but also be used as a basis for policy studies.

Clinical Characteristics, Electrodiagnostic, and Imaging Findings of Atypical Forms of Motor Neuron Disease

OBJECTIVE: To describe the clinical characteristics, electrodiagnostic, and imaging findings of Hirayama disease (HD), late onset monomelic amyotrophy (LMA), and brachial amyotrophic diplegia (BAD). METHOD: A retrospective analysis of the medical records, electrodiagnostic, and imaging findings of 12 patients (4 HD, 2 LMA, 6 BAD) was done. For patients whose last clinic follow-up exceeded 6 months a telephone survey was done to see if there were any symptom changes. RESULTS: The clinical, electrodiagnostic, and imaging findings of the HD and BAD patients were similar to previous studies. Except for a later onset, age disease duration was too short to distinguish LMA from HD or other motor neuron diseases. One patient in the BAD group progressed to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and another died due to undetermined respiratory failure. These two patients showed abnormalities in their lower extremities, thoracic paraspinal, and craniocervical muscles on needle electromyography. Except for another patient, none of the other three patients showed abnormalities in their lower extremities, thoracic paraspinals, or craniocervical muscles on needle electromyography. CONCLUSION: HD and BAD can be considered as separate disease entities. However, a longer follow-up period than previously recommended is necessary to differentiate BAD from ALS. Follow-up period was too short to determine whether LMA can also be considered as a separate disease entity.