Write a paper (1,750-2,000 words) on cancer and approach to care based on the utilization of the nursing process

Benchmark – Nursing Process: Approach to Care

The nursing process aims at providing patient-centered care in five stages including assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation, and evaluation. The first thing nurses ought to do as they interact with patients is to assess their health needs. The assessment approach depends on the presenting illnesses in the patients; though, taking history and the objective data is important for all conditions. The outcomes in the subsequent steps depend on how well the assessment was conducted. The assessment helps the nurses to identify the correct diagnosis for the patients. Cancers are a major threat with minimal survival rates especially when the condition is diagnosed late. Thorough assessment allows the nurses to apply critical thinking skills so that they can detect cancer diseases at their early stages. On the other hand, the patients with advanced cancer disease require palliative care, with the most focus being on emotional and spiritual wellbeing. The side effects of the cancer treatments can be overwhelming and so the patients must be reassured all the time. The current study explores the role of the nursing process in managing cancer patients.

The Diagnosis and Staging of Cancer

Many cases of cancer have been missed due to poor patient assessment. Therefore, the diagnosis begins with an appropriate assessment and analysis of the patients’ signs and symptoms. The assessment involves determining the presence of tissue growths and lumps in the affected areas. For cancer affecting internal organs, imaging techniques such as endoscopy and laparoscopy are used. Subsequently, the sample from the tissue mass or fluid in the affected areas is drawn for cytological and histological tests. Cancer is characterized by the abnormal growth of the body cells; therefore, the diagnosis is based on analyzing the size, shape, and other morphological characteristics of the cells. On the other hand, there are also cancer antigen markers used in the diagnosis. Though, caution must be taken to avoid reporting either false-negative or false-positive results. The common cancer antigen markers include the prostate-specific antigen, the prostatic acid phosphatase, the CA 125, carcinoembryonic antigen alpha-fetoprotein, the human chorionic gonadotrophin, and CA 19-9. These biomarkers are normally produced by the body cells; however, elevated readings may indicate abnormal cell growth in the specific regions.

The cancer staging depends on the size of the mass, and whether the cells have metastasized or not. The staging helps in determining the treatment method to use as well as the survival rate. Commonly, the staging is based on the TNM system. The TNM is an acronym for the tumor, node, and metastasis (Cancer staging, n.d.). The tumor is graded from 0-4 depending on the size. On the other hand, the node is graded from 0-3 depending on the number of lymph nodes affected. Finally, the metastasis is graded from 0 to 1 depending on whether the cancer cells have spread to other parts of the body. Based on the TNM score, cancer can be categorized as either stage 1, 2, 3, or 4. At stage 1, the cancer is small and has not spread to other parts of the body. Stage II and III mean that the cancer is large and has grown to the nearby tissues and lymph nodes (Cancer staging, n.d.). In stage IV, cancer has spread to other parts of the body and this means that the treatment also becomes extremely complex.

The Complications and Side Effects of Cancer Treatment

Cancer is characterized by abnormal cell division; therefore, the treatment options involve eliminating the uncontrollably dividing cells. In a localized tumor, the cancerous cells can be removed surgically. On the other hand, in cases where the mass is large and has spread to other parts of the body, the patients are subjected to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The first side effect of treatment is alopecia; a condition characterized by hair loss. In addition, the patients may have other skin complications including dryness and redness. The second side effect is anemia  (Momenimovahed & Salehiniya, 2019). Patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy are likely to have anemia because the treatment inadvertently kills the healthy red blood cells in the blood system. Thirdly, cancer patients experience a lot of pain during the treatment (de Pauli et al., 2019). Pain can interfere with the patient’s quality of life and contribute to other emotional and physiological problems. Furthermore, nausea and vomiting is a common side effect for the people receiving cancer treatment.

The complications and side effects can be reduced by eating a light meal before the procedure and eating a balanced diet. The light meal helps in reducing nausea while the balanced diet reduces the likelihood of developing anemia. Also, the patients require a lot of counselling and emotional support to reduce the emotional torture associated with the expectation of pain especially when they are about to undergo the treatment procedure. On the other hand, patients experiencing hair loss may need to cover their heads to avoid sunburns and

Factors Contributing to Incident and Mortality Rates of Various Cancers

The onset and progression of cancer depend on various factors. Lifestyle and behavioral patterns are major determinants of the incident and mortality rates for various cancers (Momenimovahed & Salehiniya, 2019). For example, people who smoke are more vulnerable to lung, pharyngeal, laryngeal, and oesophageal cancer. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer in the United State. Also, occupation may expose one to cancer. People working in the chemical industries and inhale the chemical materials may also develop lung cancer. The chemicals are also linked with skin cancer. Also, the mortality rates depend on the economic status. People from low-income families are unlikely to afford all the cancer treatments.

American Cancer Society

The American Cancer Society can provide education and cancer support to cancer patients through national cancer day programs. Also, they may develop campaign programs such as the fight against lung cancer and HPV and so educate the public on the causes, and prevention measures for the various cancers. Further, the education should promote regular screening and inform the public where they can seek help to promote early diagnosis and treatment of the cancer cases. Moreover, it is recommended that ACS offer support groups and access to care through financial support programs especially among the vulnerable populations; the services will help reduce the burden of cancer.

Utilization of Nursing Process Across the Life Span

According to Bates et al. (2018), the nurses touch patients at different levels of care delivery. In this case, the nursing process has an important role in identifying the health needs of the patients at the assessment level and developing appropriate remedies at the assessment and diagnosis levels. At the planning phase, the nurses develop new methods of addressing the patients’ needs. For example, the emergency telehealth system can be effectively implemented to improve the treatment outcomes for cancer patients. In such cases, the nurses ought to interact with their patients, understand their psychosocial and economic needs and come up with methods that will increase their level of access to medical services courtesy of the telehealth system. The new treatment methods are then implanted and customized to the patient’s setting. Finally, the effectiveness of the intervention is analyzed at the evaluation phase to determine its effectiveness in promoting the patient’s health outcome.

Contribution of Liberal Art and Science Studies to Nursing Knowledge

            The human system is unitary and so spiritual healing is an important component that determines the patients’ treatment outcomes. Therefore, the understanding of art and science studies helps in understanding how the patient’s environment affects their wellbeing. Art has been significantly integrated into the healing process because of the calming effects they have on the patients. Patients with terminal illnesses such as cancer can significantly benefit from the serene and holistic environment creates through the artistic works (Kooken & Kerr, 2018). The liberal art improves the communication skills among the nurses and interacts with highly diversified populations accordingly. Also, mathematics, social and physical sciences, and science studies are part of the interdisciplinary research area with significant contributions to nursing care delivery.

Conclusion

Cancer patients require holistic care and a lot of social and emotional support because of the complications and side effects associated with cancer treatment. The nursing process approach of care illustrates the role of nurses as they interact with the patients from assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation, and evaluation. In addition, integrating the skills from liberal art and sciences equips the nurses with relevant competencies to address the complex needs of the patients.

References

Bates, R. A., Blair, L. M., Schlegel, E. C., McGovern, C. M., Nist, M. D., Sealschott, S., & Arcoleo, K. (2018). Nursing across the lifespan: Implications of Lifecourse theory for nursing research. Journal of Pediatric Health Care, 32(1), 92-97. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedhc.2017.07.006

Cancer staging. (n.d.). National Cancer Institute. https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/diagnosis-staging/staging

de Pauli Paglioni, M., Araújo, A. L. D., Arboleda, L. P. A., Palmier, N. R., Fonsêca, J. M., Gomes-Silva, W., … & Santos-Silva, A. R. (2019). Tumor safety and side effects of photobiomodulation therapy used for prevention and management of cancer treatment toxicities. A systematic review. Oral oncology, 93, 21-28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oraloncology.2019.04.004

Kooken, W. C., & Kerr, N. (2018). Blending the liberal arts and nursing: Creating a portrait for the 21st century. Journal of Professional Nursing, 34(1), 60-64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2017.07.002

Momenimovahed, Z., & Salehiniya, H. (2019). Epidemiological characteristics of and risk factors for breast cancer in the world. Breast Cancer: Targets and Therapy, 11, 151. doi: 10.2147/BCTT.S176070