Approach to Care of Cancer (Essay Sample)

Approach to Care of Cancer
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Approach to Care of Cancer
Overview of Cancer
Over the last few years, the mortality rate from cancer has been growing steadily making this disease among the leading causes of death both in the developed and the developing world. According to estimates, more than one million people are diagnosed with cancer every single year and half of that number ends up dead. According to experts, cancer is caused by the abnormal growth of cells that multiply uncontrollably and have the capability of attacking other tissues within the body. The blood and lymph systems are so far the recognized mechanisms through which the cancer cells are transferred to different body tissues. At the present, there are over one hundred types of cancer that have been documented. This paper takes a close examination on the approach to the care of cancer, which consists of diagnosis and staging, the complications of cancer, as well as the available modalities that can be used to reduce the physical and psychological effects of cancer and its treatment.
Diagnosis and Staging
Just like any other disease, the ability to provide optimal care for patients suffering from cancer depends on the offering of well-timed and precise prognosis. Equally important to this process is the staging of cancer. The staging process is critical to the effective treatment of cancer as the mode of treatment is formulated depending on the stage and the degree of the cancer. Identifying the symptoms is the first step towards an effective diagnosis of cancer, and this is immediately followed by the presentation of these symptoms. The procedure of diagnosing cancer in most cases begins with the presentation of symptoms. The moment that cancer is suspected, doctors use a wide range of methods to detect the disease and each of them varies depending on the type of cancer. Some of the available methods for that are used by doctors to detect cancer are CT scans, x-rays, bone scans among other methods. Even if a patient is determined to be suffering from cancer, doctors always use biopsy and tissue examination as the final diagnosis method. In the recent past, there have been emerging technologies that are being used by pathologists to determine the presence of cancer with positron emission tomography (PET) and F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) being the most common (DeVita, & Rosenberg, 2001).
Once the doctor has ascertained the presence of cancer in a certain cell, the next most important stage before treatment can commence is staging. Staging is the simplest way of ascertaining the level of cancer and its exact placement. Staging defines the severity of a person’s cancer on the basis of the primary tumor, as well as on the level that the cancer has spread in the body. This is a critical stage since it makes it possible for doctors to create a prognosis, as well as to develop an ideal treatment modality for the patient. Comprehending the stage and extent of cancer is, therefore, one of the most important steps in the process of identifying clinical trials that are appropriate for individual patients. Although there are various methods of carrying out the staging process depending on individual patients, the main objective of the process is the same (DeVita, & Rosenberg, 2001).
There are four types that characterize cancer staging. The first is clinical staging, which determines the amount of cancer that there is based on the bodily examination as biopsies of the affected tissue. The other type is pathologic staging, which is only possible in individual patients who have had a tumor removed surgically to determine the level of the cancer. This stage usually involves the results from the clinical staging and the surgical process. The third type is the post-therapy or Post-Neoadjuvant Therapy Staging, which is done to determine the amount of cancer that has remained in the body after the initial treatment process. The last type is restaging, which is used to establish the level of the recurring cancer. This last type of staging helps in determining the best modality of treating recurring cancer (Johnson, & Gross, 2011).
Cancer Complications and Side Effects
Cancer patients are at greater risk of developing complications either due to the cancer itself or due to the available treatment options. Hyponatremia is the commonest of all the complications relating to cancer. Chemotherapy, which is the most common type of cancer treatment, is considered to be among the risk factors for this complication. This is mostly caused by the syndrome of inappropriate production of antidiuretic hormone (SIADH), which may arise as a result of the ectopic creation of arginine vasopressin (AVP) by the cancerous tissue. Although hyponatremia might be caused by other chronic diseases, research shows that more than half of all the cases are caused by cancer. All the hyponatremia cases that are linked to cancer have been found to hinder the patient’s response to treatment as recovery. This mode of treatment deals with hyponatremia by openly obstructing the AVP biding with its receptors. Some of the drugs that are recommended for use in dealing with this condition include conivaptan, lixivaptan, and tolvaptan among others (Rubin, & Williams, 2010).
According to Bucholtz (2010), spinal cord compression (SCC) is also prevalent among cancer patients. It is estimated that more than 20,000 Americans suffering from cancer develop SCC each year. This number is estimated to be on the increase due to the enhanced treatment and the elongated survival in different cancers. This condition is mostly prevalent among patients with lung, breast, prostate, and kidney types of cancer. This complication is mostly brought about by the growth of metastatic tumor that has blocked the epidural space. The unhindered growth of the mass destroys the bony structure of the vertebrae and makes them feeble to the point where they collapse. If not treated, this injury might lead to a permanent loss of neurologic function. Most clinicians today recommend the use of radiation therapy for the effective treatment of this complication. This therapy deals with the complication by reducing the volume of the lump and easing the SCC (Bucholtz, 2010).
Another complication that often occurs in patients receiving cancer treatment is an anaphylactic reaction. Research has shown that close to 40% of cancer patients that are undergoing therapy are prone to an allergic reaction. Interestingly, the same drug that causes the allergic reaction is the same one that can treat the condition. Patients who react to their medication are stabilized by being taken off the drug before being reintroduced to the same drug. This means that patients should be taught on how to watch for the symptoms of drug reaction and report them to doctors for management. Another complication that occurs in a large number of patients with cancer and those undergoing treatment is intense pain. This is usually treated by introducing pain killers alongside the cancer drugs (Rubin, & Williams, 2010).
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