Benchmark – Nursing Process: Approach to Care
By definition, the nursing process is a systematic approach to care that utilizes the fundamental principles of client-centered care, critical thinking, goal-oriented tasks, and evidence-based practice. Nursing intuition is also a critical component of the nursing process. The five sequential steps of the nursing process are assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation, and evaluation. As a tool that translates nursing knowledge into practice, the nursing process assists nurses determine the healthcare needs of specific populations and deliver individualized care.Nursing Process: Approach to Care. In this essay, the author explores cancer and approaches to cancer care based on the utilization of the nursing process. Aspects included in the essay are; cancer diagnosis and staging, complications, side effects of treatment, and methods of lessening psychological and physical effects of treatment. Factors contributing to high mortality rates of cancers in America, role of American Cancer Society (ACS) in providing education and support, and use of the nursing process in provision of cancer care are also discussed. Lastly, the essay details the role of social sciences and liberal nurses in the development of nursing knowledge.Nursing Process: Approach to Care.
Diagnosis of Cancer
Diagnosing cancer in its early stages offers the best opportunity for cure. Various approaches are used for cancer diagnosis. These include physical examinations, laboratory tests, tissue biopsy, and imaging tests.Nursing Process: Approach to Care.
Physical Assessments
Using this approach the physician feels specific body parts for lumps which may be indicative of tumors. During physical examinations, physicians look for abnormalities such as changes in skin color and enlarged organs.Nursing Process: Approach to Care.
Laboratory Tests
Laboratory tests used for cancer diagnosis are urine and blood tests. These assist in the identification of abnormalities that are caused by cancer. For instance, a complete blood count test reveal increased number of leucocytes in patients with leukemia.Nursing Process: Approach to Care.
Imaging Tests
Imaging exams allow the physician to examine bones and internal body organs in a non-invasive manner. Imaging tests used for cancer diagnosis include computerized tomography (CT) scan, bone scan, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET) scan, ultrasound, and X-ray.Nursing Process: Approach to Care.
Biopsy
In this procedure, the physician collects a sample of cells for laboratory testing. The type of biopsy procedure conducted depend on the patient’s type of cancer and its location. Notably, biopsy is the only way to definitively diagnose cancer.
Cancer Staging
After cancer diagnosis, determining is extent or stage is the next step. The cancer’s stage determine the treatment options and the possibility for a cure. Staging tests include imaging tests to determine whether the cancer has spread to nearby body organs (Brierley, 2016).There are different mechanisms used for cancer staging. The TNM staging system is the most common for cancer staging. In this framework, T stands for tumor, N for lymph nodes, and M for metastasis.Nursing Process: Approach to Care.
T describes the size of the tumor and whether it has grown to other parts in the organ. It is usually assigned a number 1to 4 and the higher the number, the higher the extent of the tumor’s growth. N describes whether the cancer has spread to the nearby lymph nodes. N0 means that cancer has not spread to nearby lymph nodes (Patel & West, 2020). M describes whether the cancer has spread to other body parts or metastasized in the blood.Nursing Process: Approach to Care.
Based on this system, cancer is described in four stages.
Stage 0- also known as carcinoma in situ, a stage where abnormal cells have not invaded surrounding tissues.
Stage 1: The tumor is small and has not grown outside of the organ in which it started,
Stage 2 and 3: the tumor has outgrown the initial tissue and affected a nearby organ.
Stage 4: the cancer has spread through the blood or the lymphatic system.Nursing Process: Approach to Care.
Complications of Cancer, Side Effects of Treatment, and Methods to Lessen Physical and Psychological Effects
Cancer treatment can result in several complications. These include chronic pain, difficulty breathing, hypercoagulable state that leads to neu
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