Cancer and Approach to Care Utilizing Nursing Process

Benchmark – Nursing Process: Approach to Care
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Benchmark – Nursing Process: Approach to Care
This paper discusses cancer diagnosis and staging, cancer complications, the side effects of treatment, and methodologies to reduce the mental and physical effects, the risk factors for cancer cases and deaths, the role of the American Cancer Society in providing awareness and support and the services I would recommend and the rationale, how the nursing process can be used to provide patient care across the lifespan, and the role of liberal arts and humanities in preparing nurses to provide quality care using the nursing process.
Diagnosis and Staging of Cancer
According to Stanford Health Care (n.d.), a cancer diagnosis requires an evaluation of the patient’s history, physical assessment, and diagnostic testing. Several tests are required to establish whether an individual has cancer as other conditions mimic clinical manifestations of cancer. Diagnostic testing is crucial to confirm the illness’s presence, monitor the illness process, plan form, and establish the most appropriate treatment intervention. Cancer diagnosis includes different procedures, including laboratory tests, imaging, endoscopic exams, genetic testing, surgery, and tumor biopsy. The physician could conduct several laboratory tests such as tumor markers, urinalysis, complete blood count (CBC), and blood tests. In diagnostic imaging, the physician uses transmission imaging (including X-rays, bone scans, lymphangiogram, computerized tomography scans, and mammogram), reflection imaging (ultrasound), or emission imaging (magnetic resonance imaging). The endoscopic examinations to diagnose cancer include colonoscopy, cystourethroscopy, upper endoscopy, sigmoidoscopy, and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. Despite being a complicated procedure, genetic testing establishes gene mutations that increase cancer risk. A biopsy is conducted to investigate using a microscope to eliminate cells or tissue from the body. The biopsy types performed to diagnose cancer include fine-needle aspiration, shave, endoscopic, skin, bone marrow, incisional or excisional, and punch biopsy (Stanford Health Care, n.d.).
Staging entails establishing a degree of cancer within an individual’s body and location. Cancer staging enables the physician to understand the severity of the disease and a patient’s likelihood of survival, plan the ideal treatment for the patient, and recommend the appropriate treatment option based on clinical trials. The stage at which cancer is diagnosed is used to identify cancer even if it spreads or worsens. The physician uses different diagnostic procedures to establish the illness stage, including laboratory tests, x-rays, and other procedures. There are various staging systems for cancer. However, the TNM staging system is normally used to learn the stage for many cancer types. In the TNM structure, the T describes the extent and size of the primary tumor, the N explains the sum of adjacent cancerous lymph nodes, and the M implies whether or not the disease has metastasized (i.e., this means that the disease has spread from the main tumor to other body parts). Once the T, N, and M categorizations are established, the tumor is assigned a specific stage 0, I, II, III, or IV, where stage 0 describes cancer which is limited to the cells layer within which it originates, stage one refers to initial-point invasive cancer, whereas stage four is the described the most progressive (some types of cancers including testicular, do not incorporate stage IV). For other cancer types (e.g., thyroid, breast, and prostate), TNM solely cannot establish the stage as information such as biomarkers, patient age, and histologic grade determine the stage (American Cancer Society, 2019).
Cancer Complications, Side Effects of Treatment, and Methods to Reduce Physical and Psychological Effects
Some of the common cancer complications include fatigue, skin changes, and weight changes. Cancer uses the body’s nutrients to advance and grow, causing extreme tiredness as those nutrients fail to replenish the body. Skin changes are a major complication in cancer patients that includes darkening, redness, yellowing of the skin, and roses that are difficult to heal. In addition, cancer patients also experience unintended weight gain or loss (Mayo Clinic, 2021). Many patients experience side effects during cancer treatment, which improve later but could persist for some. Cancer treatment’s most common side effects include hair loss, distress, and pain. Some cancer treatment, such as chemotherapy, causes individuals to lose all or some hair. Chemotherapy medications interfere with normal functioning of the hair follicles, leading to massive loss of hair. Radiation therapy to the patient’s head could also lead to hair loss on the scalp. It can also be difficult to learn to cope with treatment or changing situations, leading to distress. Cancer treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery can cause pain (American Cancer Society, 2019).
If the hair is completely lost or becomes very thing during treatment, physicians recommend that patients protect their scalp’s skin from the sun, heat, and cold. This involves wearing a hat and using a broad-spectrum sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF). The patient can also wear a scarf or hat to cover and remain warm during cold weather. The scalp can also feel sensitive and itchy. The patient should be gentle when washing or brushing their hair. Regarding pain, the patient can work with their health care team to ensure they incorporate a pain control plan into their treatment and care. The pain control plan should consider the individual’s diagnosis, cancer type and stage, other medical problems, the prescribed medications, personal experiences with pain, and other individual preferences. In order to lessen distress during treatment, the patient should rely on coping strategies that worked for them in solving past crises and problems. This could involve finding someone they are comfortable interacting with to discuss their illness and health status (The American Cancer Society, 2022). Some patients could also prefer meditation...