Question

what knowledge is need to care for an oncology client that is experiencing symptoms from chemotherapy and or radiation therapy?

Answer 1

Ans) The nurse often has a better opportunity than any other member of the healthcare team to develop the required rapport for effective educational efforts with patients and their families. Patient and family education starts before therapy and continues during and after therapy. Continual reinforcement throughout the treatment course helps to ensure success.

- Appropriate written and visual teaching aids may be used, as well as referrals to other professionals or community programs, such as cancer support groups. Such education includes structured and unstructured experiences to assist patients with coping with their diagnosis, long-term adjustments, and symptoms; to gain information about prevention, diagnosis and care; and to develop skills, knowledge, and attitudes to maintain or regain health status. This planned education uses a combination of methods that best meet the needs, capabilities, and learning style of the patient.

- The ONS has enhanced this definition by recommending the following patient education outcome criteria: The patient and/or family should be able to

(1) describe the state of the disease and therapy at a level consistent with the patient's educational and emotional status;

(2) participate in the decision-making process pertaining to the plan of care and life activities; (3) identify appropriate community resources that provide information and services;

(4) describe appropriate actions for highly predictable problems, oncologic emergencies, and major side effects of the disease and/or therapy; and

(5) describe the schedule when ongoing therapy is predicted.

- The change to outpatient administration of chemotherapy has increased the necessity for accurate and thorough patient and family education. This requires nurses to understand the possible side effects of each antineoplastic agent and the self-care activities for reducing their severity. Describing the side effects or problems that patients might experience from the regimen as a whole is more effective than focusing on each separate drug. Patients often express more concern about the occurrence and management of side effects than the mechanism of action of particular agents. Reiteration of important points will assist in achieving the desired outcome. Identifying a time sequence in which side effects generally occur may allay patient anxiety and will assist nurses in selecting the appropriate interventions. This may help to distinguish side effects of chemotherapy from other possible causes of similar symptoms. Patient education is facilitated when side effects are classified as immediate, early, delayed, and late.

- ThereThere are a variety of teaching tools and methods available, the choice of which is based on individual patient needs and abilities. Printed, visual, and audiovisual educational materials are used in conjunction with discussion and continued reinforcement. With the increased development of the Internet, more and more cancer patients and family members are accessing the World Wide Web to gain information about cancer. Chat groups are serving as a source of information as well as support. This method of communication will continue to be an increasing source of knowledge for consumers.

Patients should be encouraged to keep personal, written, daily diaries that record treatment dates, symptoms, test dates, and questions. A personal diary provides additional written documentation of the onset of specific phenomena and accurate dates of therapy, in case the patient's medical record is not available.