Cancer: Diagnosis, Staging, Complications, Treatment and Nursing Process

This study provides an emphasis on cancer and the different staging of cancer. It explains the different side effects of treatment and the various factors that are accountable for increasing the mortality and incidence rate among America. The study concludes by explaining the nursing strategy that will be utilized for providing effective and safe care to the cancer patient and how the undergraduate education will assist the nurse in expanding their knowledge and prepare them to treat the patient effectively.

Running head: CANCER
CANCER
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

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Introduction
Cancer is defined as the poor health condition which result during cellular changes
caused due to uncontrolled expansion and division of normal cells. This study will provide a
great emphasis on cancer and the different staging of cancer. Cancer is associated with
different types of heath complications that also acts as the signs and symptoms of the illness
(Greenstein, 2016). The different side effects of treatment and the various factors that is
accountable for increasing the mortality and incidence rate among America are explained and
how the American Cancer Society (ACS) will provide support and education for improving
the overall health condition of the population. The study will concludes by explaining the
nursing strategy that will be utilized for providing effective and safe care to the cancer patient
and how the undergraduate education will assist the nurse in expanding their knowledge and
prepare them to treat the patient effectively (Shi et al., 2017).
Diagnosis and staging of cancer
Staging of cancer is defined as the procedure that will exhibit the degree of the
patient’s cancer and how large the tumour has spread. This will help the patient to understand
their chances of survival, plan their treatment and also understand the severity of their health
condition. There are different types of test or procedure that is used to identify the stage of
cancer such as lab test, X-ray and other procedures. The staging system are used for
identifying the location of cancer such as TNM staging system.
TNM staging system is the most extensively used staging system of cancer that is
practiced by various hospitals and medical centres for reporting cancer. In TNM system
(National Cancer Institute, 2019):
 T denotes to the extent and size of three primary tumour
 N denotes to the amount of associated lymph nodes which have cancer.

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 M denotes to the detection cancer metastasizes, stating if the cancer have spread to the
other areas of the body.
The description of cancer using TNM system will be explained using different numbers
after each individual letters that will guide the healthcare providers to gain more precise
information regarding cancer such as T1N0MX or T3N1M0. After the screening test that
clearly exhibit the location and condition of cancer, the healthcare professionals are
responsible for providing effective diagnosis to the patient (Brierley, Gospodarowicz &
Wittekind, 2016). The family and personal history of the patient health condition play a
crucial role in underpinning which diagnosis test will be used. The different types of
diagnosis procedure that is used for cancer patients are lab test, CT scan, imaging test,
nuclear scan, magnetic imaging resonance (MRI), PET scan, bone scan, biopsy, ultrasound
and X-rays. Biopsy diagnosis is carried out by two different approaches namely either by
using needle or through endoscopy. The examples of endoscopy are bronchoscopy and
colonoscopy (White et al., 2017).
Complication of cancer
Cancer is associated with different types of health complications that will be more
harmful and severe for the patient. The three types of complication of cancer are as follows
(National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, 2019):
 Issues associated with the nervous system and brain
 Weight loss- Cancer extract food and essential nutrients from the healthy cells that
deteriorate the weight of the patient
 Pain- it is the major complication that is associated with cancer and their treatment.

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Side effects of cancer treatment and methods to lessen the effect of cancer
Treatment of cancer is very painful and have different side-effects that affects almost
every individual who are suffering form this condition. The most common side-effects of
cancer are as follows (Healthypeople.gov, 2019):
 Fatigue
 Infection
 Anaemia
 Vomiting and Nausea
 Constipation
 Appetite changes
 Easy bleeding and bruising
The treatment and management of cancer leads to different side-effects that might affect
the physical and psychological statue of the patient. The psychological, social and physical
state of an individual is majorly affected due to cancer and its treatment and therefore to
enhance the quality of life, it is very crucial that the patient have identified different methods
to reduce the psychological and physical effects of cancer treatment (Money & Garber,
2018). Educating the patient regarding the management and handling of their health condition
is considered as the primary method for reducing any kind of physical and mental effects.
The patient will gain relevant knowledge and information regarding cancer that will reduce
their anxiety and stress and help them to recover from the negative physical and
psychological effect. Social support network is also considered as the method that will help
the patient to reduce physical and mental stress as they will communicate within the
community and develop a healthy social relationship that will in turn motivate them and
boost their self-confidence (Bland et al., 2017).

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Risk factors contributing to high mortality and incidence rate
Cancer is considered as the second primary cause of demise globally that is
accountable for approximately 9.6 million demise in 2018. Nearly 70% of the death takes
place in the middle and low income areas of the countries. The five different types of dietary
and behavioural risk factors that result in approximately 1/3rd of the death are high body mass
index (BMI), consumption of tobacco, alcohol consumption, physical inactivity and low
intake of fruits and vegetables. Consumption of tobacco is considered as the major risk factor
that is responsible for increasing the incidence and mortality rate of cancer resulting to
approximately 22% of death (World Health Organization, 2019). There are various cancer
producing infections like human and hepatitis papilloma virus (HPV) that results in enhanced
mortality and incidence rate and result in approximately 25% of the total demise. Ageing is
considered as the crucial risk factors that is responsible for causing cancer, as the incidence
rate of cancer increases drastically with increasing age. Hence, the above mentioned risk
factors are responsible for contributing towards high mortality and incidence rate in United
States (Mokdad et al., 2017).
American Cancer Society (ACS)
American cancer society is considered as the general deliberate health organization
that is dedicated towards eliminating cancer. This organization was established in 1913
within United States and aim to educate the nurse, doctors, family members and patients
regarding cancer. The primary motive of the organization was to publish journals and conduct
a writing campaign that will help the doctors and the nurses to gain relevant information and
knowledge regarding cancer. The organisation conducts different health promotion
campaigns, and also organises projects like Great American Smoke out and Relay For Life
that aim to educate and support the individuals who are suffering from cancer. The American

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Cancer Society is responsible for collecting 75% of the total funds for cancer treatment
program services among which 37% of the fund is for patient support, 16% of the fund is for
conducting the research, 13.1% of the fund is for prevention and 9.2% of the fund is for
detection and treatment (American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, 2019).
There are various types of services that is offered by the American Cancer Society
among which the recommended service is patient navigator program that is also considered
as the personal cancer guide. This program aims to connect the patient with their respective
patient navigator present within the cancer treatment centre, who will communicate with the
patient independently and guide them through the complete situation of their health
condition. This will therefore help the patient to enhance their knowledge and reduce any
anxiety or stress related to their poor health condition (American Cancer Society, 2019).
Nursing process for providing safe and effective care
Nursing process is defined as the scientific method that is used and practiced by the
nurses to safe-guard that the patient is receiving high quality of care and support. There are
five different steps included within the nursing process that will aim to provide safe and
effective care to the patient (LoBiondo & Haber, 2017):
 Assessment phase- It is considered as the primary step included in the nursing
process where the nurse will gather the relevant information of the patient’s
physiological, psychological, spiritual and sociological status. The data regarding the
patient health condition is gathered in different ways among which conducting
interviews is the crucial step that will help the doctors to identify the need of the
patient and accordingly develop the care plan.
 Diagnosing phase- in this phase the nurse comes to a conclusion and judge the health
conditions of the patient. During this phase the nurses not only identify the health

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issues of the patient but also locate the associated risk factors that is responsible for
enhancing the health issues of the patient. This is the critical step as the doctors
determine the treatment course of the patient.
 Planning phase- After the nurse and patient have agreed to the diagnosis procedure,
an action plan is made that will prioritize the assessment of the patient. The critical
symptoms and risk factors are identified in this pages and each issues is addressed by
creating a specific SMART goal for tracking the wellness of the patient.
 Implementing phase- In this phase, the nurse follow to the action plan and aim to
achieve the best patient health outcome. The action plan consist of monitoring the
patient, caring for the patient, performing the medical test, educating the patient and
maintaining the regular follow-up.
 Evaluation phase- This is the last phase included in the nursing process where the
patient outcomes are assessed and evaluated to determine if the predicted patient
outcome is achieved or not. The patient outcome is classified under three different
terms namely improved patient condition, stabilized patient conditions and
deteriorated patient condition.
Undergraduate education of nurses
Due to increasing demand of the skilled nurses across the nation, it is very crucial that
the nurses receive undergraduate education in liberal arts and science study as this would
contribute as the foundation of nursing knowledge. The nurses will be taught regarding the
patient care and different standards of patient care under their science studies. Social and
physical science can consist of different patient handling techniques and what the nurses must
do during an emergency condition (Ayoola et al., 2017). This will therefore help the nurse to
gain relevant idea regarding the management of the patient and the action plan that must be
followed by the nurse to assist the patient. The nurses who are educated regarding the

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practical skills during their undergraduate studies will have a better skills and idea of
approaching the patient and therefore manage the patient with enhanced efficiency and
reliability (Reed & Shearer, 2017).
Conclusion
It can be concluded that this study has provided a great emphasis on cancer and the
different complication, side effects and treatment of cancer. The staging of caner and
diagnosis was explained that will help the doctors to understand the location and position of
tumour. The growth of cancerous cells can be rapid or slow depending on their rate of
expansion and division. The different factors such as consumption of tobacco or drinking that
increases the mortality rate were highlighted. This study therefore focused on educating the
nurses regarding patient care and support during their undergraduate study. The essay also
explained the five different steps of nursing process that will deliver enhanced patient care
and outcome.

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