Essay on Cancer and Approach to Care

• The Diagnosis And Staging Of Cancer

Staging cancer is a procedure of determining an individual’s cancer details like tumor size and whether it has spread to other body parts. This stage helps in guiding decisions made concerning treatment. There are different cancer diagnosis which is made use of in a patient with cancer. The imaging tests for cancer diagnosis include a bone scan, MRI, computerized tomography, x-ray and ultrasound, and PET scan (Zhang et al. 2020). A physician collects samples of cells while at the laboratory to perform a biopsy. However, in diagnosing cancer a caregiver reflects into the following symptoms abnormal bumps, unexplained gain or loss of weight, and sweating at night. These symptoms are assessed by a doctor to inform a patient whether they result due to cancer or other illness.

• Complications Of Cancer, The Side Effects Of Treatment, And Methods To Lessen Physical And Psychological Effects

There are different malignancy complications; they are as follows pain, fatigue, and weight loss. Pain can result due to cancer treatment, even though not all cancers are painful. The methods used to lessen pain medications of psychological and physical effects, relaxation therapies such as massage, tai chi, and meditation help manage cancer pain. The continual muscle relaxation approaches combined with imagery contains the probability of promoting the relief of cancer pain. They induce calming effect by breaking pain muscle tension hence facilitating pain relief. The side effects of treating cancer pain include anemia, bleeding, edema, appetite loss, and diarrhea. Fatigue within individuals with cancer has numerous causes though it can be controlled. The methods of ameliorating fatigue psychological and physical effects include radiation or chemotherapy treatments which are temporary (Jensen et al. 2021). Radiation therapy occurs through focusing beams of light to certain area of body which is affected by cancer. Together with chemotherapy the two therapies aids in destroying cancer cells as well as limiting the therapies effects to the rest of client’s body. The side effect of chemotherapy in fatigue treatment indicates fatigue as the utmost side effect. Other adverse effects include muscle pains, aches, getting worn out quickly, and difficulty doing daily activities. Weight loss is a cancer complication, is eminent in cancer conditions and cancer treatment. Cancer takes food nutrients from cells hence depriving them of nutrients. Treating weight loss to ease the psychological and physical effects is through artificial nutrition by using tubes towards the stomach. The side effects eminent in weight loss treatment include nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, and mouth sores.

• Factors That Contribute To The Yearly Incidence And Mortality Rates Of Various Cancers In Americans

Numerous factors contribute to annual cancer events and increased mortality amongst Americans. These factors include tobacco use, obesity and overweight, physical activity, and poor diet. However, tobacco use leads to lung and laryngeal cancer. It also causes other cancers such as esophageal, bladder, pancreas, colon, and leukemia. These cancers, due to smoking, lead to increased cancer incidences and increased mortality rates in US citizens. Physical activity has been indicated to positively lower prostate cancer through the alteration of hormone levels. Obesity has also been linked to the cause of cancers. The excess fat accumulation within the body system leads to several major cancers such as uterine, breast, and colon cancer (Zavala et al., 2021). Obesity is also linked to the threat of having kidney cancer. Chronic diseases such as cancers are associated with poor diet. Thus, having a diet that contains fruits and vegetables daily will protect one from cancer. Fruits and vegetables contain anticarcinogenic nutrients which obstruct the formation of carcinogens which reduce transformed cells proliferation. Thus, fruits servings will help lower incidences of cancer emanation and help reduce mortality rates due to cancer. Some of the fruits and vegetables to consume which have beneficial effects for tailing cancer illness include broccoli, garlic, carrots, cruciferous vegetables, blueberries, oranges, lemons, apples, grapefruit, and mulberries.

• The American Cancer Society (ACS) Provision of Support and Education

The ACS promotes a healthy lifestyle which helps individuals prevent cancer. It should provide education concerning cancer causes and the appropriate cancer treatments. It should also educate and support individuals about cancer treatment, healthy lifestyles to emulate, and the proper diet to take (Rock et al. 2020). The proper diet to be recommended for cancer patients include low-fat dairy, fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains. The services to recommend for ACS provision will be the provision of emotional support for cancer clients. And this is because emotional support will help patients be cared for and give them the essence of being alive. Other services include information regarding cancer diagnosis and everyday help for cancer patients. The information regarding cancer illness will involve signs and symptoms, different types of cancer, how cancer develops within the body of an individual, and what happens to body when one has cancer. The agency should advance in their endeavor to save lives, celebrate lives for patients who recover fully, and leading for the fight against cancer.

• How The Nursing Process Is Utilized To Provide Safe And Effective Care For Cancer Patients

Nurses are united in the nursing practice to offer patient-focused and holistic tending for cancer clients. In the assessment phase, nurses utilize dynamic and structured ways to collect and analyze information concerning a client. This phase encompasses delivery of nursing care, spiritual, lifestyle, and social-cultural factors configuration. A nurse in the diagnosis phase makes clinical judgment concerning a patient’s response to potential health needs. Clinical diagnosis revolves around the patient’s pain cause and other problems emanating from the pain, such as poor diet, depression, and family conflicts. In the outcome or planning phase, nurses set achievable and concise objectives for cancer clients based on diagnosis and assessment (Toney-Butler et al., 2020). These goals can involve moving from chair to bed four times a day, resolving conflicts utilizing therapies, pain management, and good nutrition management. In the nursing process, the implementation stage the nursing care is outlined as per the care plan. The client’s care during hospitalization is configured, and discharge preparation is also implemented. Therefore, the patient’s status and nursing care effectiveness are evaluated, and the treatment plan is modified appropriately. These phases of the nursing process ensure comprehensive and patient-centered care is achieved. The nurses should also educate clients concerning their post-discharge care through a simple and effective manner. The nurses through working with clients they ensure clients have thorough comprehension of their therapeutic condition and self-care routine prior to their discharge. The nurses assist in facilitating smooth recovery for patients.

• 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

The liberal arts advances skills of nursing students in communication, thinking, navigating diversity, decision-making, and help in improving themselves. It also helps them expand their capacity to be engaged in valued work with patients socially. Social and physical sciences help undergraduate students in nursing to improve or have knowledge and skills in diagnosis, assessments, care planning, and evaluating patients. The nursing knowledge that is outlined in social and physical sciences include physiologic needs, self-actualization, belongingness, and self-esteem. The nursing undergraduate comprehends about respect for patients when delivering healthcare and while participating in assessments and treatment offered for patients in healthcare facility. Through mathematics studies the undergraduates nurses learn time management skills for handling their daily responsibilities as they maintain professional environment when interacting with patients, colleagues, and family members. They also learn how to prioritize their workload and appropriately muiltask when essential. The mathematics studies also help in writing prescriptions and administering medications. They also determine how medications will stay in client’s body hence helping patient know the medication interval. Science studies incultivate undergraduate students in the nursing process to care for clients who have complex medical needs, spiritual, psychological, and economic concerns. They can distinguish between truths in a diverse array of issues hence coming up with solutions to the impending problems. The undergraduate nurses can have critical skills in the diagnosis of an illness, assessments, evaluation, and implementing the preferred treatment for a patient. Science studies in nursing help undergraduate students to ameliorate important nursing skills such as communication, empathy, networking, teamwork, critical thinking, attitude and confidence, and conflict resolution skills. These skills help nurses to give patients resources which aid in improving their lives and illness outcomes. Nurses also teach procedures and pass medications to the clients to assist in achieving compliance with their health linked wants.

Conclusion

The prevalence of cancer has increased over the years, leading to an increase in mortality rates. However, cancer diagnosis and management ways have been incorporated to tail cancer incidences. Different methods have been used to help cancer patients recover from the condition. Healthy lifestyle practices, proper diet, and physical exercises have also been enhanced for recovering and having a quality life through ACS agency and nurse’s interventions. The ACS agency should ensure that it provides clients with information regarding cancer causes and the treatment available for them. It should also make publications with healthy lifestyles to emulate, the right physical practices cancer patients to involve themselves in, and offer emotional support to cancer clients and their families. Nurses should provide comprehensive care and patient centered care to their clients through appropriate manner possible. Undergraduate students through liberal arts should learn the effective nursing skills which will help them in providing patients with resources for improving their quality of lives and their illness outcome. They should also come up with resolutions after assessing the client’s cancer conditions through the use of the tests and other methods. The undergraduate nurses should also be conversant with the studies such as mathematics thus when administering and prescribing medications they do it in a precise manner without making errors which can affect a cancer patient health well being. Nursing institutions should also test the undergraduates concerning mathematical prowess thus being able for the nurses to have skills such as problem-solving and critical thinking skills that will help them in assessing patient medicine interval in the body.

References

Jensen, S. B., & Saunders, D. P. (2021). Oral Complications of Cancer Therapies. In Textbook of Palliative Medicine and Supportive Care (pp. 795-802). CRC Press.

Rock, C. L., Thomson, C., Gansler, T., Gapstur, S. M., McCullough, M. L., Patel, A. V., … & Doyle, C. (2020). American Cancer Society guideline for diet and physical activity for cancer prevention. CA: a cancer journal for clinicians, 70(4), 245-271.

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

Zavala, V. A., Bracci, P. M., Carethers, J. M., Carvajal-Carmona, L., Coggins, N. B., Cruz-Correa, M. R., … & Fejerman, L. (2021). Cancer health disparities in racial/ethnic minorities in the United States. British journal of cancer, 124(2), 315-332.

Zhang, C., Zhao, Y., Xu, X., Xu, R., Li, H., Teng, X. … & Han, D. (2020). Cancer diagnosis with DNA molecular computation. Nature Nanotechnology, 15(8), 709-715.