Sources of evidence
| Sources of Evidence | Information Provided | Limitation of Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Claimant/carer | First source of information | May not be objective, does not have specialist knowledge |
| GPFR | The GP should be able to confirm the diagnosis and provide contact details for the paediatric oncologist managing the child’s neuroblastoma. | All children will be managed at their local paediatric oncology centre. The GP will be able to confirm the diagnosis but may not be able to give details of current or planned treatment or prognosis of disabling effects. |
| Hospital FR | The best source of information will be the hospital based specialist nurse or the consultant oncologist. They will be able to provide details of the risk group the child is in and current and planned treatment and confirm disabling effects. They are the best source of information on duration of planned treatment and prognosis of disabling effects.
The most important information to check will be: Confirm diagnosis Confirm treatment is being received e.g. some type of chemotherapy. Some children will not need treatment. Confirm severe disability due to specific side effects of therapy if claimed e.g. rare disabling side effects of chemotherapy or effects of disease such as walking difficulties due to para-spinal neuroblastoma. Always ask for prognosis of side effects. |
Details of planned treatment may change depending on response to treatment or the development of side effects, information provided may become quickly out of date. |
