OBJECTIVES:
* Determine the correlation between the Vulnerable Elders Survey (VES-13) and the battery of Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment tools among breast and colon cancer patients, 65 years and older, in an outpatient setting.
* Assess and compare the abilities of the VES-13 and the battery of Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment tools to predict chemotherapy adherence among these patients.
* Examine the validity of the VES-13 screening tool to identify increased risk of death from all causes at one year after initial VES-13 screening in these patients.
* Examine the validity of the VES-13 screening tool to identify increased risk of functional decline at one year after initial VES-13 screening in these patients.
OUTLINE: Patients complete the Vulnerable Elders Survey (VES-13) and a Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment at baseline and 12 months later. Variables collected include sociodemographics; cognitive, nutritional, psychosocial, and emotional status; tumor characteristics; therapy; and mortality.
Patients are followed for 1 year for chemotherapy adherence and survival.
