Abstract: This was a retrospective study of 100 Auckland people suffering from cancer in their terminal year. It aimed firstly to report the development of limitations in daily living activities and of dependence on help, and secondly to develop a method of assessing the functions of both patients and those who cared for them in such a way that support services could be matched to needs. The observations showed problems of progressive disability and dependence, which varied with the age of the patient and the type of malignancy. They showed clearly the long lasting emotional problems of the careers after the patients' death