Benchmark - Nursing Process: Approach to Care

Cancer
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Institution
Due Date
Cancer
1 Introduction
Cancer is the abnormal growth of cells in the body which can spread (metastases) to other parts of the body. Humans are affected by over 100 types of cancer and they have myriad symptoms which include but are not limited to lumps (especially in breast cancer), unexplained weight loss, nausea, abnormal bleeding, change in bowel movements, coughing and difficulty in breathing, etc. These symptoms are different for different types of cancer. Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally and is responsible for an estimated 9.6 million deaths in 2018 CITATION Wor18 \l 1033 (World Health Organization , 2018). Though treatment of cancer is possible, the chances of survival are highly depended on when it is detected. Studies have shown that cancer has risk factors which include; high body mass index, low fruit and vegetable intake, lack of physical activity, tobacco use, and alcohol use. Tobacco is the leading risk factor and accounts for nearly 22% of cancer deaths CITATION Wor18 \l 1033 (World Health Organization , 2018). Cancer has a high economic cost and it has stymied development in low- and middle-income countries where it is prevalent. In 2010, the total annual economic cost of cancer was estimated at approximately US$ 1.16 trillion CITATION Wor18 \l 1033 (World Health Organization , 2018).
2 The staging & diagnosis process of cancer.
Patients with cancer are discovered by a doctor either during screening or if the patient has certain symptoms. The doctor can continue asking about the family background (cancer is genetic) and medical history and also perform a physical exam. Further, to be sure the doctor can order a biopsy and other lab tests and imaging scans to be sure beyond any reasonable doubt. If the tests are positive, the doctor can request further exams and tests to establish the extent to which it has spread or which stage it is in.
Staging of cancer
CITATION Nat15 \l 1033 (National Cancer Institute, 2015) defines a cancer stage as ‘to the extent of your cancer, such as how large the tumor is, and if it has spread.‘ After establishing the stage of cancer, the doctor can understand how serious cancer is, advice on the best treatment approach and identify the best clinical trials that can help manage or eradicate cancer. One of the common cancers staging system is the TNM. The CITATION Nat15 \l 1033 (National Cancer Institute, 2015) describes the stages in the following manner;
T- size and extent of the main tumor.
N- the number of nearby lymph nodes that have cancer.
M- refers to whether cancer has metastasized.
To further detail the extent of cancer, the Letters described above have other notations i.e TX, T0), T1 Or NX, N), N1 to describe the stage of cancer.
The other commonly used staging system is classified into four groups. The doctor can describe cancer as either in Stage I, Stage II, Stage III or Stage IV
Stage I – Means there are abnormal cells present in a tissue but they have not spread to any nearby tissue
Stage II – in this stage, cancer has spread to nearby tissue and it may have reached the lymph nodes.
Stage III – Depending on the cancer type, it may have m...