Table 1.
Trajectory of illness coding scheme
| Phase | Stage | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Crisis | Diagnostic quest | Acute phase |
| Comeback | Journey back to a workable life within the boundaries imposed by physical and mental limitations — may be partial or complete, depending on the brain tumor | |
| Chronic | Stable | Symptoms may still be intrusive; regimens still difficult; long-term management and physical wear and tear; a time of adapting (to devices and routines) |
| Unstable | Symptoms (new or prior) occur; additional treatment may be required; patient may or may not return to a stable condition | |
| Deteriorating | Treatment is not effective or not possible as the brain tumor grows; the patient loses functional (physical and/or cognitive) ability | |
| Terminal | Dying | The last weeks of life; hospice home care generally sought; patient and family prepare for death |