Discharge and Self-management of Colorectal Cancer

Running Head: COLORECTAL CANCER ` 1
Discharge and Self-management of Colorectal Cancer
Name:
Institution:

Discharge and Self-management Plan of Colorectal Cancer 2
Introduction
John started his health kick on his 65th birthday though he did not get involved in any
particular sport and never did do any regular exercises. Moreover, John did not have a healthy
eating habit because most of the weekends he spent time with his friends drinking a few beers
and eating a lot of beef content with was rarely backed up by greens. After John got diagnosed,
he suffered from a high anterior resection which he acquired after colorectal cancer got located
in his colonoscopy which involves the evaluation of the inside of the colon. Furthermore, John
had the history of ACPS B which was poorly differentiated from the adenocarcinoma infiltrating
the serosa. Also, John admits that he had experienced pains and he felt tired frequently. This
article also provides information regarding the discharge plan John can follow after leaving the
hospital and the self-management plan he can follow to ensure that he fully completes his active
treatment.
Discharge Plan
The Recommended Follow up Regime
According to Jorgensen (2015), most of the follow-up regime gets recommended for
patients who have received curative resection for stages 2 and stage 3 diseases; this puts John at
risk of acquiring Primary Colorectal Cancer and adenomatous polyps. Hence, there are
possibilities that John may develop a new primary cancer and adenomas which may reoccur after
about four years. Furthermore, the follow-up regime is crucial because it would help John
maintain a good healthy life which manages the side effects of the chemotherapy. In the follow-
up regime, it is essential for John to receive the history and physical examination from a
physician at regular intervals to establish the symptoms of colorectal cancer recurrence.
Furthermore, the digital rectal exam is also done on selected patients to develop rectal cancer. It

Discharge and Self-management Plan of Colorectal Cancer 3
is vital that follow up on this history, physical examination and digital rectal examination be
done at intervals of three to six months for the two years then six months to a year after that.
Also, sigmoidoscopy should get done, and it is essential for John to have this because he had an
anterior section of the rectum and the test is recommended every six months to check any
abnormalities.
Furthermore, Carcinoembryonic Antigen (CEA) testing should be done at each follow-up
visit because the CEA is a protein which is essential in patient's blood elevation. Furthermore, it
can indicate colorectal cancer recurrence before even the signs and symptoms are evident. The
CEA should get done at intervals of three to six months for five years (Steele, 2015). Moreover,
Computed Tomography (CT) scan should also be done which creates a three image dimension of
the body inside with the use of an x-ray machine and it is recommended for the abdomen and
chest yearly for every six to 12 months for the first three years. The CT scan also helps in
detecting metastatic diseases which may be present in the liver and lungs (Smetana, 2015).
Moreover, colonoscopy should get done to detect any polys or metachronous CRC and
anastomotic recurrence in the rectum and the large bowel. It is essential for the colonoscopy to
be done one year after the rectum resection and how often John needs this test depends on the
results of the examinations that were made earlier though most of the colonoscopy gets done
after every five years. The signs and symptoms that most colorectal cancer recurrence patients
face are depression and anxiety which are often due to the fear of cancer recurring. Moreover,
some patients suffer from sexual dysfunction and erectile dysfunction, and these can only get
managed by seeking medical advice from concerned specialists (Ekholm, 2013).
Education and Self-management Plan