Analysis of Contemporary Cancer Care Management - Nursing Studies

This essay examines contemporary cancer care management practices in Australia, drawing from an editorial published in the International Journal of Nursing Studies – Elsevier. It discusses the evolution of cancer treatment from traditional methods like surgery and chemotherapy to more advanced techniques such as radiation therapy, robotic surgery, and contemporary drug regimens. The essay highlights the role of palliative and hospice care in managing symptoms and improving the quality of life for patients, as well as the importance of counseling and support groups in providing emotional and psychological support. It concludes by emphasizing the effectiveness of modern approaches in mitigating side effects and improving patient outcomes, alongside strategies to promote readership of the editorial, including social media sharing and peer review.

Running Head: WRITING FOR PUBLICATION
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Writing for Publication
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation

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EDITORIAL: Contemporary Measures in Cancer Care Management
Author:
[Student’s Name]
Published:
June 2, 2018
Published Under:
International Journal of Nursing Studies – Elsevier
Introduction
Cancer care management is vital for the treatment and overall well-being of the patient –
this is because the illness is incurable. The process involves eliminating risk factors and
symptoms through diagnosis, staging and treatment. Notably, cancer care in Australia involves
treating the patient via radial therapy, hormonal therapy, chemotherapy and surgery; or
counseling, palliative and hospice care for those in the final stages of cancer. Multiple studies
show that nurses play an integral role in cancer care and management because they help the
patients manage symptoms of nausea, distress, and fatigue (Pearce et al., 2017). Also, they utilise
advanced practices such as education and research to empower patients. Traditionally, cancer
care management involved surgery; managing the symptoms, and making the patient as
comfortable as possible. However, new practices such as chemotherapy prevent the growth of
cancer and shrink the abnormal cells. In most cases, the approaches eliminate cancer cells from
the patient's body. This paper examines contemporary practices in cancer care management with

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the editorial published in the International Journal of Nursing Studies – Elsevier. My preference
of this journal is because of its popularity concerning the global audience.
Chemotherapy, Surgery and Radiation Therapy
Today, technology is increasingly applied to medical practices to provide better services.
Scientists suggest that in future, nurses will utilise more sophisticated and innovative equipment
to monitor the patient's condition (Kehe, 2017). Initially, the standard practices in cancer care
management were surgery and chemotherapy. The approaches aimed at controlling cancer by
removing the affected cells or by administering cancer drugs to the patient.
According to (Miller et al., 2015) chemo treatment involves giving the drugs on a regular
schedule or administering them when the symptoms occur. However, over time, some cells
become resistant to the approach and remain unresponsive to other treatment. For instance, if
signs of skin cancer appear after two years from administering chemo, the patient must take
alternative medication. The efficiency of this approach is debatable because it has numerous side
effects and may permanently "destroy" the body part or other healthy cells. Some chemo drugs
cause nerve damage in the hands and heart complications. However, the treatment has potential
benefits because it can stop cancer. In other cases, the patient feels stronger or better after getting
chemo – this ensures they live longer. New chemo practices in Australia involve the use of
contemporary drugs to relieve pain and reduce the widespread of cancer cells.
Other contemporary guidelines in cancer care management are radiation therapy and
surgery. According to (Pearce et al., 2017) radial therapy uses high-energy waves such as gamma
rays, x rays, electron beam and protons to destroy cancer cells. The contemporary technique
damages cancer cells by breaking their DNA – this limits cancer cells from growing and dividing

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in the body. Radial therapy is a very efficient approach in cancer care – this is because the
ingested substances eliminate up to 80 per cent of a tumour. In some cases, cancer disappears
entirely after treatment, for instance, the introduction of radioactive materials in the veins cures
Leukemia. However, the approach has certain disadvantages. Primarily, the procedure cannot be
used twice in the same body part. In such cases, patients sign consent forms in Australia before
radial therapy to acknowledge the potential risks during treatment. Delwiche (2013) explains that
radial procedure does not apply to certain types of cancers; an example is skin cancer because of
the possible risk of destroying healthy skin cells.
Another contemporary guideline to cancer care in Australia is surgery. From Shimol et al.
(2018) surgery involves removing cancer cells and the surrounding tissues during an operation.
The technique is the oldest cancer treatment approach. However, modern surgical procedures
utilise new equipment to conduct surgery and monitor the post-surgery condition of the patient.
An example is a robotic surgery for pancreatic cancer in Australian hospitals. Delwiche (2013)
suggests that surgery is an efficient approach in cancer care – this is because post-surgery drugs
reduce pain and discomfort among patients. Also, the concept allows treatment of malignant
tumours in internal body parts such as the liver. Compared to radial therapy, surgery is more
efficient. Fenner at al. (2012) explains that the approach has certain demerits. For instance, it
may involve removing the entire organ to remove cyst. Patients in certain stages of cancer
require surgical procedures to remove the organ and prevent infection of other body parts. An
examples is pancreatic cancer may affect the brain. In this case, surgical procedures remove the
entire pancreas. Beheshti et al. (2017) explain that modern cancer care management practices in
Australia utilise treatment machines which monitor the patient’s health during treatment, and
help manage potential side effects.

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Palliative and Hospice care
According to (Rome et al., 2011) palliative care is a vital guideline for cancer care
management in Australia. The concept focuses on relieving emotional and physical symptoms
related to cancer. Notably, cancer care involves managing the signs because the disease is
incurable. The argument here is that palliative care makes the patient's life better before, during
and after the treatment by controlling tiredness, pain, shortness of breath and nausea. The
approach also involves counselling and physical therapy to reduce emotional stress and
depression among cancer patients. However, the method does not apply to cancer patients in
their final stage.
Another contemporary approach to cancer care management in Australia is hospice care.
It involves managing patients when cancer cannot be controlled; or when the side effects
outweigh benefits of medication (Shimol et al., 2018). The approach helps patients live
comfortably, and accept death as the ultimate stage rather than trying to stop it. One merit of
hospice care is that it relieves cancer pain and other symptoms because the focus is on comfort.
However, the approach is expensive because advanced care takes place. In Australia, the
guideline involves high-costs because nurses employ costly programs to reduce complications
arising from cancer.
Counseling and Support Groups
According to (Miller et al., 2015) another guideline to cancer care management is
counselling. Today, contemporary cancer care in Australia must involve counseling. Here,
hospitals use a variety of technologies, therapies, and specialities to educate the patient and
provide emotional support. Patient education plays a vital role in empowering and informing the

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sick. One of the merits of this guideline is that the patients and their families obtain information
concerning the treatment procedures, and how to stay healthy. Comparatively, counseling is
more efficient than palliative care because patients understand the coordinating care and
importance of specific procedures – this allows a more natural transition from post-surgery to
hospice care (Ryan, 2013). Cancer care management by counseling plays a vital role for post-
surgery patients suffering from depression, deep pain, fear, and trauma among other concerns.
Improper management of patients limits their response to therapy and the overall treatment.
Contemporary counseling in Australia involves implementation of programs which provide
psychological support to the sick and their families. The approach is effective because nurses
engage the patient and their families in prostheses, rehabilitation and reconstructive therapy.
However, counselling is expensive because formal resources and health programs enable the
nurse care managers to address health concerns of the patient (Miller et al., 2015). Extreme
medical procedures have also been formulated to provide advanced care. Another contemporary
issue is the use of support groups to educate the patient and deal with their emotions. The groups
consist of caregivers, people with cancer, and survivors of different stages of the disease. In
some cases, the support groups provide spiritual and moral assistance.
In conclusion, contemporary cancer care management in Australia involves a variety of
procedures which mitigate the symptoms. Practices such as robotic surgery and radiotherapy
primarily represent recent innovations in cancer care - these approaches are more effective
compared to "traditional" techniques because they mitigate the effect on other healthy body
parts. In Australia, older innovative technology "changes" the nature of older approaches such as
chemotherapy because patients ingest contemporary drugs which effectively destroy the cancer
cells. Australian healthcare centres utilise cancer care management practices such as counselling,

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support groups, palliative and hospice care to provide emotional support. The concepts engage
the patient in therapy and allow them to live longer.
Strategies which Promote Readership of the Editorial
Editorials play a crucial role in the development of journals because they encourage the
reader to select from a variety of papers (Yuri, 2013). Today, different strategies ensure a
publication gains high readership. For this editorial, policies which provide broad readership
include sharing on social media. The channels offer a platform for sharing information and other
interactions. Sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram allow extensive marketing and
communication (Khatri et al., 2015). Social media will promote readership of this article because
it is shared on multiple profiles, and is more accessible to the digital reader browsing content
online. The platform also enables authors to engage a broad audience by tweeting and sharing the
journal article.
Another strategy is sharing the editorial on the internet and other journal articles (Kehe,
2017). The concept presents the column to educators and students seeking knowledge on current
guidelines to cancer care management. Engaging the readers in the debate also improves the
readership – this makes the article accessible to many individuals. Another strategy is making the
material more interesting by adding pictures of cancer care management in nursing as
supplemental files or part of the body (Jaring & Back, 2017). Improving the quality of the
editorial by peer-reviewing the article on the subject area is essential. The concept helps to
reduce the number of errors and provides for necessary corrections. Also, it moulds the editorial
to suit the audience by making proper corrections on grammar and punctuation – this makes the
article more appealing.

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References
Back, P. J. (2017). How Researchers use Social Media to Promote their Research and Network
with Industry. Technology Innovation Management Review.
Beheshti, F. et al. (2017). Genetic variation in the DNA repair pathway as a potential
determinant of response to platinum‐based chemotherapy in breast cancer. Journal of
Cellular Physiology, 233 (4), 2752-2758.
Delwiche, F. (2013). Mapping the literature of radiation therapy. PMC , 101 (2), 120–127.
Fenner, Y. Et al. (2012). Web-based recruiting for health research using a social networking site:
an exploratory study. PMC , 14, 20.
Kehe, Z. (2017). Inaugural editorial: Promoting the understanding of ideographic writings.
Journal of Chinese Writing Systems, 1 (1), 3-3.
Khatri, C. (2015). Social Media and Internet Driven Study Recruitment: Evaluating a New
Model for Promoting Collaborator Engagement and Participation. PLoS ONE, 10 (3).
Miller, A. et al. (2015). Reporting results of cancer treatment. Wiley Online Library.
Pearce, A. et al. (2017). Incidence and severity of self-reported chemotherapy side effects in
routine care: A prospective cohort study. PLoS ONE , 12 (10).
Rome, R. et al. (2011). The Role of Palliative Care at the End of Life. PMC, 11 (4), 348–352.
Ryan, G. (2013). Online social networks for patient involvement and recruitment in clinical
research. PMC , 21, 35-39.

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Shimol, B. et al. (2018). Computer-based radiological longitudinal evaluation of meningiomas
following stereotactic radiosurgery. International Journal of Computer Assisted
Radiology and Surgery, 13 (2), 215 - 220.
Yuri, A. (2013). Selecting Your Editorial Board: Maintaining Standards. PMC, 28 (7), 972–973.