Using the Cancer Rehabilitation Questionnaire in patients with colorectal cancer

This article describes the development and testing of the Cancer Rehabilitation Questionnaire (CRQ) in patients with colorectal cancer. A descriptive, correlational survey was conducted in a sample of patients with colon or rectal cancer who received care at an outpatient cancer clinic at a large, northeastern U.S. academic medical center. Patients were identified from the Tumor Registry (N = 327) and received a mailed questionnaire. One hundred and three patients with colorectal cancer completed the demographic questionnaire, the CRQ developed by the investigators, and the Quality of Life Index (QLI). Significant differences were found between individuals with colon cancer and individuals with rectal cancer on the total CRQ (p < .005) and the physical, future orientation, and role-relationship subscales. For the QLI, significantly lower scores were reported on the family subscale for patients with rectal cancer in comparison with those with colon cancer. More attention to rehabilitation issues and quality of life is required across the trajectory of the cancer experience. With the increasing incidence of colorectal cancer, nurses in rehabilitation practice must address the issues affecting patients with this disease as they progress from diagnosis to treatment and rehabilitation.