Oncology Nursing: Side-Effects of Chemotherapy and Nursing Interventions

Running head: ONCOLOGY NURSING
ONCOLOGY NURSING
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1ONCOLOGY NURSING
‘Cancer’ can be defined as a condition that arises due to the abnormal division of the cell
which is predominantly referred to a condition known as ‘metastasis’ (Loven et al.,2013). The
cell division rate is accelerated due to the failure of the check points regulating the cell division
and it ultimately leads to proliferation of the cells that invade the normal tissues and continue to
divide at an unstoppable rate. The unchecked cell division gives rise to accumulation of cell mass
that forms ‘tumors’. Based on the origin of the tumor, cancer is classified into many subtypes
and the terminology of the cancer also depends upon the same. Interventions for the treatment of
cancer include a number of therapies such as chemotherapy and hematopoietic stem cell
transplantation but the course of intervention depends on the identified stage of cancer (Aslam et
al.,2014). This essay revolves around the identification and the discussion of the side-effects of
monitoring chemotherapy to cancer patients and the further sections of the essay would also
highlight the nursing interventions that are undertaken in order to combat the side-effects.
It is extremely important to diagnose the patient suffering from cancer and identify which
stage of cancer the patient is presently staged at. After the identification of the stage of cancer,
interventions are devised by physical experts. Chemotherapy is the most widely used therapy to
treat cancer worldwide and statistics suggest that it in more than 80% of the cancer cases, doctors
widely recommend chemotherapy (Colagiuri et al.,2013). It is important to understand the
existing principle operating behind the administration of chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is
basically a medication that targets the rapidly growing cells in the body which are supposed to be
the cancerous cells on account of their accelerated growth property (Hirsch et al.,2013).
However, it should be critically noted that chemotherapy does not work by targeting specific
cancerous cells, rather it focus on the targeted killing of the rapidly growing cells which
sometimes also include other normal cells that possess the capability of diving at a very fast rate

2ONCOLOGY NURSING
(Iwamoto,2013). Examples of such cells include the cells of the gastro-intestinal tract, the hair
follicular cells and the cells of the bone marrow (Kanti et al.,2014). Hence, chemotherapy in
most of the cases leads to the targeted killing of the cancerous cells in association with the
normal cells and this counts as the major side-effect of using chemotherapy as an intervention to
treat cancer patients.
Chemotherapy works in a number of ways to combat cancer. Scientific studies reveal
three ways in which chemotherapy controls cancer (Meacham & Morrison, 2013). The first
process includes the targeted killing of the abnormally dividing cancerous cells so much so that
there are no traces left to be detected in near future, the second process checks the spreading of
the tumor cells to other healthy tissues or de-accelerates the growth of cancer and the third
process is used to treat severe patients who are placed at the terminal stages and the process is
directed towards the killing of the most painful tumors of the body which possess the capability
to regenerate themselves (Loven et al.,2013). In most of the cases chemotherapy and radiation
interventions are coupled together and administered to the patient.
It should be critically noted here that the side-effects associated with chemotherapy is not
prevalent at all times and in most of the cases, the side-effects experienced are not too severe but
can be managed with the administration of oral medicines that help in reducing the intensity of
the side-effect. Nursing interventions for the remedial treatment of the side-effects include
accessing the degree of adversity faced by the patients both in terms of physical impairment and
mental stress associated with the severe side-effects (Patel et al.,2013). Interventions to improve
the mental status pertaining to depression linked with the side-effects incorporate the self-
assessment of the distress-scale by the cancer patients. However, it should be noted that the
nurses can also adopt better intervention strategies in close association with the oncologists as