Nursing

The nursing process is a tool that puts knowledge into practice. By utilizing this systematic problem-solving method, nurses can determine the health care needs of an individual and provide personalized care.

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

Describe the diagnosis and staging of cancer.
Describe at least three complications of cancer, the side effects of treatment, and methods to lessen physical and psychological effects.
Discuss what factors contribute to the yearly incidence and mortality rates of various cancers in Americans.
Explain how the American Cancer Society (ACS) might provide education and support. What ACS services would you recommend and why?
Explain how the nursing process is utilized to provide safe and effective care for cancer patients across the life span. Your explanation should include each of the five phases and demonstrate the delivery of holistic and patient-focused care.
Discuss how undergraduate education in liberal arts and science studies contributes to the foundation of nursing knowledge and prepares nurses to work with patients utilizing the nursing process. Consider mathematics, social and physical sciences, and science studies as an interdisciplinary research area.
You are required to cite to a minimum of four sources to complete this assignment. Sources must be published within the last 5 years and appropriate for the assignment criteria and relevant to nursing practice.

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

Benchmark Information

This benchmark assignment assesses the following programmatic competencies:

RN-BSN

2.1: Incorporate liberal arts and science studies into nursing knowledge.

3.1 Utilize the nursing process to provide safe and effective care for patients across the life span.

ANSWER

The Nursing Process in Cancer Treatment

Cancer Diagnosis and Staging

Cancer screening for cancer diagnosis at its earliest stages can tremendously help a patient get cured and become cancer-free. Different patients may receive different cancer screening, depending on the doctor’s consultation. For different cancers, screening tests can be a lifesaver by diagnosing cancer early. In other forms of cancer, screening can only be appropriate for people with increased risks (Mulki et al, 2020). Therefore, a cancer diagnosis can be conducted by a doctor depending on the screening done. The following are some ways cancer diagnosis can be conducted to ascertain the presence or severity of cancer. The first and most basic diagnosis is the physical exam. During the physical exam, the doctor may search the body for any lumps. He may also look at the skin color of the skin or any abnormal enlargements of an organ which is usually an indication of cancer (Mulki et al, 2020).

Another form of cancer diagnosis is the laboratory test. Lab tests are used to screen for any abnormalities caused by cancer (Mulki et al, 2020). A patient’s urine and blood are tested for any signs of abnormalities. For patients with leukemia, the most common test entails the blood test (complete blood count), which indicates a low number of white blood cells. Biopsies also help in cancer diagnosis and are the most definite way of testing compared to the other tests. A biopsy entails screening a patient’s cells under a microscope (Mulki et al, 2020). Normal cells are uniform in shape with similar sizes. For cancer cells, they normally look disorganized with different shapes and sizes.

Consequently, upon cancer diagnosis and found positive, the doctor may go ahead to determine and evaluate the extent of a cancer stage. Cancer staging is defined as the extent of cancer, including how large the tumor is, which the cancer has spread through the body (Mulki et al, 2020). Cancer staging enables the doctor to know the kind of treatment to administer to the patients, the seriousness of cancer, and clinical trials suitable for treatment. The most common system used in cancer staging is the TNM system (Tanase et al, 2016). The TNM system is mostly used in hospitals and medical centers to describe cancer staging in patients. The TNM system operates in the following ways;

T-refers to the size and the extent of the main tumor called the primary tumor.

N-number of cancerous near nymph nodes.

M- Ascertains whether the tumor has metastasized. This means that the cancer has spread from the main tumor to other parts of the body.

As the TNM gives great detail to describe the extent of the cancer, doctors may also opt to use an ‘understandable’ way of the staging while addressing a patient (Tanase et al, 2016). They may use the five stages of describing cancer, which patients tend to understand better. The first stage is stage 0, which indicates that the abnormal cells are present in the body but have not moved to the nearby or other tissues. Stages I, II, and III mean that the cancer has spread, with the higher the number of cancerous cells, the larger the cancer tumor. The final stage is Stage IV, which means that the cancer significantly spreads to other parts. This stage is usually irreversible and means that the patient is in danger (Tanase et al, 2016).

Cancer Complications, Side effects and Lessening Psychological Effects of Treatment

Cancer treatment and procedures may lead to patients experiencing certain complications that may range from mild to severe. Some of the most common complications include weight loss. Many patients who undergo cancer treatment exhibit weight loss and hair loss (Kroschinsky et al, 2017). The cancer cells often steal nutrients from food from the normal cells, depriving the body of basic nutrients for growth and sustenance. The weight loss can also be attributed to lack of appetite, as is a common side effect of treatment. Other doctors try to insert tubes directly into the stomach, but this does little to help with the weight loss situation.

Another complication of cancer treatment is chemical changes in the body (Kroschinsky et al, 2017). In some cases, cancer cells disrupt the normal chemical balances in the body that may affect the chemical balances in the brain responsible for stimulus. Often characteristics of a chemical body change include excessive thirst, confusion, constipation, and frequent urination. The chemical changes in the body may also interfere with brain functioning leading to rain and nervous system problems.

Consequently, cancer treatment has its own side effects on a patient. Some of the cancer treatment methods may include medication and certain forms of therapy, including chemotherapy, that ultimately exhibit side effects on the patients (Kroschinsky et al, 2017). Some of the most common forms of side effects as a result of treatment include fatigue. This is common for patients undergoing chemotherapy. The process often removes energy from the patients and often feel tired after the experience. Some medications also make them feel drowsy and result in fatigue even without any bodily action from the patients. Another side effect is nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea (Kroschinsky et al, 2017). These common side effects occur as cancer patients lose appetite and the sight of food often makes them develop nausea symptoms.

In addition, psychological stress is a common factor for patients living with cancer. The whole process of screening, diagnosis, and treatment makes it hard for some patients to cope. It is therefore important for these patients to learn some of how they can cope with the situation. The first method of coping with the side effects of cancer treatment is learning relaxation and meditation (de la Torre-Luque et al, 2016). Stress management can be achieved through training on how to relax and taking long and short, quick breathes in meditation. It helps a patient focus on other positive things in life other than their current situation.

The stress from the side effects of treatment can also be handled by attending cancer counseling sessions and joining various support groups. By joining support groups, patients can be in an environment where they are not experiencing the same thing alone (de la Torre-Luque et al, 2016). Patients share their burdens and fears and get comfort from one another. It helps remove the bulk off their shoulder by sharing in counseling sessions and are taught how to live with cancer as the treatment continues.

Causes of Cancer Mortality Rates in America

After heart disease, cancer is the leading cause of death in the United States. Various forms of cancer have their own levels of mortality rate annually. Between 1999 and 2019, the rate of cancer death was tremendously reduced to 27% (Lariscy et al, 2020). This means that deaths from cancer reduced from 200.8 to 146.2 per 100,000 people. Of all the different forms of cancer, lung cancer was the leading cause of cancer death in the US in 2019. It accounted for 23% of all cancer deaths (Lariscy et al, 2020). Second, on the list of other cancers was colon and rectum that had 9% mortality rates.  The third was pancreas cancer which represented an 8% mortality rate of all cancer deaths. The high number of high cancer deaths in 2019 is a clear indication of the poor choice of living in America. Many lung cancer cases resulted from bad smoking habits, with most of the patients finding it hard to quit the habit (Lariscy et al, 2020).

American Cancer Society Intervention

People suffering from cancer and especially those representing the lung cancer group, can get support from the ACS. The ACS might provide support and education to such patients in several ways (Smith et al, 2019). First, they provide and offer publications like brochures and pamphlets, including professional journals from doctors and patient confessions. These publications offer education on how to cope with cancer and treatment. They also offer support and give examples of community institutions that one might get immediate help.

The ACS also offers support to its members by offering programs and services to cancer patients (Smith et al, 2019). According to their website, they offer help services to more than 1.4 million cancer patients every year. Cancer patients can get education and support with the involvement of their friends and families. These groups are taught how to cope with a family member suffering from cancer and how they can live together and help their loved ones cope with the recovery process. They also offer day-to-day help and support for people living alone and isolated. They offer rides, catalogs with wig products for patients experiencing hair loss, and volunteers who act as sponsors that frequently call to check on patients living far away.

I would recommend the community programs and services offered by the American Cancer Society. I believe that cancer can be challenging when a patient goes through the whole process alone. They need people in their team and corner to help them champion the whole process and experience. With the hair loss and loss of body weight that comes with cancer, people tend to feel insecure about themselves and feel like society is judging them. This package is, therefore, to deal with the challenges of community acceptance. The community programs and services ensure that everybody is engaged in the recovery process as a community. They can be taught to be more welcoming and supportive of patients who have cancer. They are also taught how to offer emotional support and offer day-to-day help in whichever way that one may become available for them. I believe that cancer needs to be tackled as a community. Stigmatization is also an issue, and the more people get to be educated about cancer, the more they become open to the conversation and get to understand what the patients are going through. The community’s involvement will speed the recovery process since the burden of one will be shared by many.

Nursing process and Cancer Treatment

The nursing process is a patient-centered care that ensures patients receive quality care. The nursing process entails five sequential steps which can help in providing safe and effective care for cancer patients. The first step is assessment (Toney-Butler & Thayer, 2020). Nurses can assess the conditions of patients by doing cancer screening. This will entail basically the physical examination. The assessment stage entails data collection, and the nurse can gather data from the family to ascertain the history of cancer in the family. The second step is diagnosis. The nurse conducts the cancer diagnosis to ascertain the kind of cancer and the extent of its spread. After doing a diagnosis, the nurse engages in the third step of planning. Planning will entail the kind of cancer treatment to receive. Such treatments may be in the form of therapy or surgery. The goal of the planning should be S.M.A.R.T-Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely (Toney-Butler & Thayer, 2020).

After proper planning, the fourth step will be implementing the plan (Toney-Butler & Thayer, 2020). This phase will entail the patients going through a series of procedures, including either undergoing surgery or therapy to begin the healing process. The final step will be an evaluation which will evaluate whether the medication administered is working or not. Evaluation is normally care-based and involves interrogation between the caregiver and the patient by asking how the patient is feeling and observing how they are responding to the medication. The side effects will also be analyzed (Toney-Butler & Thayer, 2020).

Undergraduate Education and Cancer Treatment

Knowledge gained especially from undergraduate education in subjects like science studies as interdisciplinary research areas can greatly influence nursing education. With the integration of the knowledge gained and nursing practice application can greatly influence the understanding of cancer while treating cancer patients. Knowledge gained in mathematics and science studies helps in assessment, diagnosis, and planning in cancer treatment. Science education will have equipped the nurse with prior knowledge in handling and detecting cancer among patients. This will be handy during an assessment, as the nurse will analyze the patients for any signs of cancer.  Knowledge gained in mathematics and science will be useful in diagnosis, especially while looking at body cells to see whether they have been affected and already become cancerous.

References

de la Torre-Luque, A., Gambara, H., López, E., & Cruzado, J. A. (2016). Psychological treatments to improve quality of life in cancer contexts: A meta-analysis. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology, 16(2), 211-219.

Kroschinsky, F., Stölzel, F., von Bonin, S., Beutel, G., Kochanek, M., Kiehl, M., & Schellongowski, P. (2017). New drugs, new toxicities: severe side effects of modern targeted and immunotherapy of cancer and their management. Critical Care, 21(1), 1-11.

Lariscy, J. T., Hummer, R. A., & Rogers, R. G. (2020). Lung cancer mortality among never-smokers in the United States: estimating smoking-attributable mortality with nationally representative data. Annals of Epidemiology, 45, 5-11.

Mulki, R., Mekaroonkamol, P., Lopez-Aguiar, A. G., Lesinski, G. B., Kooby, D. A., Akce, M., … & Willingham, F. F. (2019). Diagnosis and Staging of Pancreatic Cancer. Handbook of Gastrointestinal Cancers: Evidence-Based Treatment and Multidisciplinary Patient Care.

Money, S., & Garber, B. (2018). Management of cancer pain. Current Emergency and Hospital Medicine Reports, 6(4), 141-146.

Smith, R. A., Andrews, K. S., Brooks, D., Fedewa, S. A., Manassaram‐Baptiste, D., Saslow, D., & Wender, R. C. (2019). Cancer screening in the United States, 2019: a review of current American Cancer Society guidelines and current issues in cancer screening. CA: a cancer journal for clinicians, 69(3), 184-210.

Toney-Butler, T. J., & Thayer, J. M. (2020). Nursing process. StatPearls [Internet].

Tanase, K., Thies, E. D., Mäder, U., Reiners, C., & Verburg, F. A. (2016). The TNM system (version 7) is the most accurate staging system for the prediction of loss of life expectancy in differentiated thyroid cancer. Clinical endocrinology, 84(2), 284-291.