Chemotherapy Essay

8. After surgery, R.T. is admitted to the surgical intensive care unit (SICU) with a large

According to the oral cancer foundation, “Chemotherapy is the use of chemicals to destroy cancer cells. Chemotherapy works by interfering with the cancer cell's ability to grow. It is one of the three main methods utilized to treat cancer.” With cancer being a potentially fatal disease it is important to diagnose it as soon as possible. the oncologist have to study the chemicals used so that they can determine what chemicals will treat the cancer or disease the best and what chemicals can be mixed together without any major side effects. The drugs can be divided into groups based on how they work, their chemical structure, and their relationship to other drugs.

Leukemia is cancerous disease that starts in blood-forming tissue such as the bone marrow and causes large numbers of blood cells to be produced and enter the blood-stream (National Cancer Institute, 2008, para. 1). It is one of many complicated cancer diseases that affect all ages and have very negative outcomes if not treated properly, and on time. Within the disease are several different types that affect according to how quickly the disease develops and attacks the body. It could be classified as chronic leukemia, which has a slow progress of getting worse or acute leukemia which usually gets worse quickly. The types of leukemia also can be grouped based on the white blood cell that is affected (National Cancer Institute , 2008, p. 1).

Eilers, J., Harris, D., Henry, K., & Johnson, L. A. (2014). Evidenced-based interventions for cancer treatment-related mucositis: Putting evidence into practice. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, 18(6), 80-96. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org.proxy.chamberlain.edu:8080/10.1188/14.CJON.S3.80-96

synthetic cannabinoids are now being used in children going through chemotherapy. These drugs help control nausea and vomiting and are also effective in appetite stimulation. The goal of antiemetic medications is to prevent the child from ever experiencing nausea or vomiting. The continued evaluation of the child's nutritional status, intake, and energy expense must happen throughout the treatment. The height weight and head circumference must be measured regularly during visits the hospital or clinic in children less than three years old. A compromised nutritional status can contribute to decreased tolerance to treatment, changed metabolism of chemo drugs, lengthy episodes of neutropenia, and increased risk for infection. Supportive nutrition measures include oral additions with high protein and high calorie foods. High calorie snacks should be easily available for the child. The most distressing side effects of combination drugs is GI mucosal cell damage, which results in open, painful sores anywhere along the alimentary tract. Oral sores in the mouth or pharynx, along the esophagus can also happen in the

Inflammatory bowel diseases or IBDs affect “as many as 1.4 million Americans”. Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis inflame certain areas of the intestines that result into chronic and long-term complications in peoples’ lives. Even though these diseases are not known to be lethal to humans, they are unbearable to its victim. Both ailments can cause patients to “experience abdominal symptoms, including diarrhea, abdominal pain, bloody stools, and vomits” 8. Both diseases result in painful

Ulcerative colitis is classified as a chronic inflammation that involves only the large intestine. In UC, the inflammation starts at the rectum and spreads into the colon continuously, developing ulcers only in the inner most lining of the colon. Compared to UC, Crohn’s disease is characterized by skip lesions that resemble a patchy cobblestone appearance, generated anywhere

Pain, which is defined in its widest sense as an emotion which is the opposite of pleasure (White, 2004, p.455), is one of the major symptoms of cancer, affecting a majority of sufferers at some point during their condition (De Conno & Caraceni, 1996, p.8). The World Health Organization (WHO, 2009, online) suggests that relief from pain may be achieved in more than 90 percent of patients;

Crohn’s is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease where the aetiology is unknown (Bullock & Hales, 2013, p. 823). Inflammation commonly occurs in the terminal ileum, jejunum and large bowel but can be present anywhere in the digestive tract from mouth to anus (Chang & Johnson, 2014, p. 447). CD disrupts all four layers of the intestine: Epithelium, subepithelium, muscularis and serosa (Bullock & Hales, 2013, p. 825). Inflammation triggers ulcers to develop in the epithelium and this results in deep fissures, fistulas or abscesses to form and extend into the peritoneum (Farrell & Dempsey, 2014, p. 917). Granulomas in the bowel do not appear constant on the wall and separations lie between normal and diseased bowel (Chang & Johnson, 2014, p. 447). Once the subsequent layers of the small intestine become oedematous from inflammation, in an attempt to heal, the damaged tissues produce scarred fibrotic tissue (Bullock & Hales, 2013, p. 825). The chronic scarring causes the intestinal lumen to become thick and narrow (Farrell & Dempsey, 2014, p. 917).

In order to explain the significance of oral aphthous ulcers in Crohn’s disease, we need to first look at the pathophysiology of the disease itself.   Crohn’s disease is a relapsing inflammatory bowel disease which can affect the entire gastrointestinal tract. The cause of the disease is not well understood. However, it is believed that the inflammatory response is mainly due to a combination of genetics, an over-reactive immune response, and environmental factors. These factors lead to an inappropriate inflammatory response against enteric bacteria (Bartels et al., 2013).  In Crohn’s disease, there is an abnormal and exaggerated response to bacteria within the gut.  As we have learned in previous lectures, an inflammatory response is a defense

Mouth, eye, skin, joint, and vascular complications (related to the inflammatory activity of the disease).

Today, many psychologists feel that psychological therapy can give cancer patients’ a longer life. The first to take this stance was Psychiatrist David Spiegel M.D., of Stanford University School of Medicine, in a 1989 study Spiegel gathered patients once a week to discuss there feelings about the cancer and here they received support from other cancer sufferers. “When Spiegel followed up a decade later, he discovered that patients who had participated in the sessions had survived an average of 18 months longer than those in the control group” (Clay,2000). It is felt that if you can tap into a patients mind and help them deal with the cancer by dealing in the mental aspect of it that it will be

cause as it takes a long time for a cell to become cancerous, as there

In recent years, cancer prevalence has been increasing globally. It is now one of the top 10 causes of death among the middle and high income countries worldwide (World Health Organisation, 2008). In Singapore, cancer has surpassed cardiovascular disease and become the top killer over the last 3 years (Ministry of Health, 2007). Breast cancer tops the chart among Singaporean women (Health Promotion Board, 2007). Thousands of women are diagnosed with breast cancer annually and it causes approximately 270 deaths each year (Jara-Lazaro, et al., 2010). The lifetime risk that a woman in Singapore getting breast cancer is now 1 in every 17 which has risen compared to past two decades (National Cancer Centre Singapore, 2006). Hence, breast

Lucendo, A. J., & De Rezende, L. C. Importance of nutrition in inflammatory bowel disease. World Jour of GastroenteroL. 2009. WJG, 15(17), 2081–2088. http://doi.org/10.3748/wjg.15.2081’