PReparing for the Experience of Having a Brain Tumor (PREHAB) Program

Patients with brain tumors experience symptoms that alter their quality of life. As patients progress through radiation and chemotherapy treatments, they find themselves unprepared for the physical and psychological demands treatments place on them. This project proposes an innovative prehabilitation program, delivered by advanced practice nurses in the time between surgery and starting treatment, which will better prepare patients for what lies ahead. The program incorporates physical and psychological assessments that establish a functional baseline, identify impairments, and provide focused interventions that promote health and reduce future impairments. Patient report measures and physical and psychological assessment data will be used to assess critical factors before prehabilitation, and before during and after treatment, as an indicator of program success. It is expected that participation in will improve functional status, sleep, anxiety, and health confidence, while decreasing symptom burden and hospital re-admissions. This innovative program contributes to the continuum of cancer care, and is expected to serve as a model for future prehabilitation programs at Northwestern and other institutions interested in bringing better care to patients. Work from this study will be used to plan a larger, more comprehensive study focused on symptom management across the brain tumor trajectory.