Cancer has become the focus of public discussion over the past couple of decades due to the high mortality rates and the growing yearly incidence of the disease. In short, cancer occurs when cells start to multiply with no control from the body, which results in them exceeding the amount of normal cells. As a result of this unrestrained cell development, all of the body systems struggle to function properly, leading to various health issues (American Cancer Society, 2015). It is important to understand that cancer is not a single illness; it is rather an umbrella term for different types of cancers, which are different in the ways they spread and affect the body. For medical professionals, it is crucial to recognize the distinctions between cancer types in order to make informed decisions regarding the best possible treatment for each time since they respond to the treatment differently. The purpose of this paper is to examine diagnosis and staging, various complications, contributing factors of cancer, as well as services for its prevention in order to assess the significance of the nursing process in cancer patient care.
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Cancer may be an originator of many symptoms, but they are often caused by injuries, benign tumors, and malfunction of the organ systems. The National Cancer Institute (2019) informs that the most common symptoms associated with cancer are breast changes (nipple discharge, lumps, etc.), bleeding or bruising for no apparent reason, fatigue, bowel and bladder changes, as well as neurological problems such as seizures, drooping of the face, and headaches. If the symptoms or screening test results suggest cancer, a doctor has to conduct a physical exam and attain the necessary information about the patient’s personal and family medical history. In addition, the patient may have to go through lab tests, scans, and other procedures. Biopsy is usually the only way to know whether a person has cancer, which is why it is often an integral part of the diagnosis process.
Most cancers form lumps, also known as tumors, which can be benign (not cancer) and malignant (cancer growths). The only way to find out whether the lump is cancerous or not is to take out the piece of it and conduct a biopsy. Cancer staging refers to the extent of the tumor and the spread of it. Knowing the accurate stage of the cancer helps doctors plan the most effective treatment, assess the patient’s chances for survival, and examine clinical trials that may be a possible treatment option for a particular case. The cancer is always referred to by the stage, which has been identified at the start of the diagnosis even if the cancer spreads more or the tumors grow larger (National Cancer Institute, 2015). There are various staging systems, which can be general or specific to one cancer type. However, most of them include medical information about the location and size of the tumor, the cell type, tumor grade, as well as whether the cancer has started to spread to nearby lymph nodes or different parts of the body.
The TNM staging system is one of the most commonly used frameworks for all types of cancer. It is the main method for cancer reporting in the majority of hospitals and medical centers throughout the country. The T refers to the size of the main (primary) tumor; the N stands for the number of nearby lymph nodes affected by cancer; the M refers to whether the cancer has spread beyond the main tumor, to other parts of the body (metastasized) (National Cancer Institute, 2015). The TNM system implies that “there will be numbers after each letter that give more details about the cancer—for example, T1N0MX or T3N1M0” (National Cancer Institute, 2015, para. 7). Although the TNM framework is perfect for medical professionals, doctors often use the simplified stage system to explain the extent of cancer to their patients. Stage 0 refers to&nb
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