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:
1- Describe the diagnosis and staging of cancer.
2- Describe at least three complications of cancer, the side effects of treatment, and
methods to lessen physical and psychological effects.
3- Discuss what factors contribute to the yearly incidence and mortality rates of various
cancers in Americans.
4- Explain how the American Cancer Society (ACS) might provide education and support.
What ACS services would you recommend and why?
5- 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.
6- 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.
Nursing Process: Approach to Care
- The diagnosis and staging of cancer.
Staging and diagnosis of cancers are different ways of classifying the different types of
cancers. A cancer diagnosis is pathological and is a reflection of how the normal and abnormal
cells look under a microscope. A cancer diagnosis can be made in several ways, and these are
through lab tests, imaging techniques, and tests, biopsies, nuclear scans, bone scans, ultrasounds
as well as x-rays. Once these tests prove that an individual has cancer, patients may have to get
more tests done to help their respective doctors plan a treatment plan.
Cancer causes cells to be deregulated and proliferate abnormally in a process known as
dysplasia. As dysplasia develops in cells, the cancer cells lose the identifying features of their
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various tissues of origin and become lesser appreciated and thus automatically presumed to be of
a much higher grade (Lasley, 2011) . By the staging of cancer, oncologists and physicians can
give a degree of spread of the tumor. By understanding the degree of spread we stand to gain a
number of advantages due to the fact that it enables them in guiding the questions to be asked in
order to handle the patient appropriately, order the right tests to be done as well as also to
determine in part what the right kind of treatment should be. Cancer staging can be done for
several reasons;
It gives the various healthcare providers a common language to describe the extent as
well as the severity of cancer.
Staging of cancers helps in the guiding of the treatment to be administered.
It allows us to estimate the prognosis.
It allows health caregivers to compare patient’s results over time.
It allows healthcare practitioners to administer standardized clinical trials.
The different tests used to stage cancer vary depending on the cancer type. The different tests
can include a physical exam, imaging studies such as CT scans as well as MRI’s (Mayo Clinic,
2012) , laboratory tests as well as pathological or surgical reports.
Staging is mostly done using the TNM (Tumor, Nodal status, and Metastasis) staging system,
which is the most common. T refers to the extent of the local and primary tumor growth. N refers
to the presence or absence of virulence within the regional lymph nodes. M refers to the presence
or absence of metastasis. Most of the time, medical practitioners often combine the TNM staging
into an overall numeral staging system ranging from stage1-4. For instance, stage 4 tumors are
often associated with metastasis as well as advanced nodal stages, while stage 1 tumors are not
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so associated with metastasis and advanced nodal stages and are thereby generally curable.
Staging can also be done pathologically as well as clinically. Clinically staging can be done
through physical exams, radiology or diagnostic imaging. Pathologically, staging can be done by
sampling the local lymph nodes or the removal of a tumor.
2- Describe at least three complications of cancer, the side effects of treatment, and
methods to lessen physical and psychological effects.
Cancer complications
Pulmonary Complications.
Several pulmonary effects can be realized due to the effects of both radiation and
chemotherapy due to their capability to produce both pulmonary as well as tissue damage that is
both progressive and irreversible. This can make the distinction between the disease process and
what is related to treatment. Various side effects can be experienced during the administration of
these treatments and these range from coughs, pneumonitis, dyspnea as well as pulmonary
edema. The physical and psychological impact can be lessened through bed rest, oxygen,
bronchodilators as well as expectorants and cough suppressants.
Cardio-vascular effects.
Chemotherapy can also have significant effects on the heart and the cardiovascular
system. It has been associated with cardiomyopathy as well as the weakening of the muscles of
the heart. Certain types of chemotherapy can also increase the risk of heart attacks. Since
radiation-induced heart disease is more likely in patients given high doses of radiation and
doxorubicin, oncologists are advised to carefully consider the radiation levels when
administering treatment so that the effects of this kind of pollution on the heart can be
lessened (Martinne, 2011) .
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Reproductive Effects
Depending on the radiation type that a cancer patient receives, patients can suffer from a
variety of effects, some of which can be long term and can develop over the years. These can
form in instances of up to two years after a treatment has been administered. Some men or
women can have difficulty having children because chemotherapy and radiation were destroying
their egg or sperm. This can also lead to some sexual dysfunction as well as hormone imbalances
among patients. This can be mitigated by the freezing of one’s egg or sperm before treatment
begins. Egg harvesting can be done to lessen the psychological effects that survivors will have to
bear of not being able to conceive.
3- Discuss what factors contribute to the yearly incidence and mortality rates of various
cancers in Americans.
In a few years, cancer stands a chance at becoming the leading cause of death in the
United States. Research that has been conducted by the CDC over the years prove that deaths
related to cancer have reduced immensely over the past few years to the frameworks that have
been put in place by the government as well as new treatment plans that are being discovered by
healthcare professionals. CDC projections show that overall cancer deaths are decreasing and the
Healthy People 2020 goal stands a chance to be reached by 2020. This goal seeks to reduce the
number of fatalities through cancer to 161 per 100,000. New cancer cases are expected to
increase each year due to the US population. The size of the population is growing, and more
people are entering older age groups of being diagnosed or dying from cancer. In addition to this,
average life expectancy is increasing, and people are living longer. This is even though we want
older people to live longer, healthier lives, and cancer does not need to be an inevitable
consequence of getting older.
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4- Explain how the American Cancer Society (ACS) might provide education and support.
What ACS services would you recommend and why?
American cancer society (ACS) is an American non-profit-organization known for its
fantastic dedication towards the fight against cancer. They help people recover from disease as
well as help them stay well and live cancer-free. They also help find cancer cures as well as help
patients in the fight against cancer. Although the organization is well known for the latest news
on cancer as well as research and development of cancer treatments. It is also able to provide
several programs for cancer patients. The ACS service that I would recommend is the hope large
program. This is because the program can provide a space for patients to stay with their
caregivers while undergoing cancer treatment. The fact that the program is free, and yet it
provides all the needs of cancer treatment is truly a gift to society. Patients can now get free
treatment and spend time with other cancer patients while sharing their experiences, thus
encouraging one another to get better (American Cancer Society, 2019) .
5- 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.
The nursing care plan is the patient’s plan of care means the primary care that a patient
goes through to get better. Cancer patients need a systematic care plan, which is the same as that
of the nursing process. For the nurses to create these care plans, they need to first assess the
patient’s condition. Cancer care plans also follow the nursing process phases, which consists of
assessments, diagnosis, planning, implementation, as well as evaluation. The first phase in a care
plan is the assessment of a cancer patient to help find out what their medical needs are. To do an
assessment, the caregivers need an assessment plan. By this, the caregiver can establish what
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exactly they need to do before they go for a clinical checkup. This will help them to define the
kind of information they need to collect on their patients beforehand, so they don’t forget
anything. They can also get to write down important facts. The second step they would utilize is
to choose the best nursing diagnosis technique that is specific to every patient’s condition. The
third step is the planning of the patient’s medication procedure as per the patient’s needs. Here
they can educate the patient on the different options of treatment available. The fourth phase is
the implementation process, where the agreed-upon medication is administered and monitored
over some time. The last step is the evaluation of the dispensed medication or treatment and the
establishment of its effectiveness levels.
6- 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.
Undergraduate Education in liberal arts and science studies contribute to the foundation
of nursing language significantly. To begin with, it is primary knowledge that nurses administer
medication as per the patient’s needs. The ungodly amounts of medication dosages administered
to patients can have adverse effects on the patients’ health and sometimes even result in the death
of a patient. Mathematical foundations enable the nursing profession to correctly calculate the
dosages administered by factoring a patient’s weight, height, BMI index as well as a host of other
crucial considerations. Through these mathematical skills, healthcare practitioners can ensure
that proper nursing skills are instilled in all nurses.
Science studies such as social sciences also help a great deal as a foundation in the
nursing profession. Through social studies, nurses can acquire information extraction skills from
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the different patients they handle. This is because by learning these social interaction skills, they
will be able to correctly articulate and interpret a patient needs correctly. This will, in turn, help
them in the administration of their medical duties accurately. Social skills are a necessary
element among nurses because most patients who are in critical condition need some
personalized attention when receiving treatment. A good nurse will be able to collect that
information while still being able to give hope to the patient without necessarily exposing a
defeatist attitude. This will provide these patients with the belief that they so desperately need to
recover quickly.
The background of physical sciences as a science study will give the nurses an overall
understanding of the problem or illness at hand, and this will help as well in the execution of
their functions.
References
American Cancer Society. (2019, 8 16). About Us. Retrieved 8 16, 2019, from American Cancer
Society: Cancer.org
Lasley, I. (2011). A curative Cancer Treatment. Isaac Lasley.
Martinne, J. (2011). Cancer. New Jersey: Taylor Trade Publications.
Mayo Clinic. (2012). The Mayo Clinic Breast Cancer Book. New York: Rosetta Books.