Nursing Care of the Client with Cancer

 Cancer Background
A. Definition
 1. Family of complex diseases
 2. Affect different organs and organ systems
 3. Normal cells mutate into abnormal cells that take
over tissue
 4. Eventually harm and destroy host
 5. Historically, cancer is a dreaded disease

B. Oncology
 1. Study of cancers
 2. Oncology nurses specialize in the care, treatment
of clients with cancer
Nursing Care of the Client with Cancer

 Incidence and Prevalence

 1. Cancer accounts for about 25% of
death on yearly basis
 2. Males: 3 most common types of cancer
are prostate, lung and bronchial, colorectal
 3. Females: 3 most common types of
cancer are breast, lung and bronchial, and
colorectal
 Nursing Care of the Client with Cancer
 Risk factors for cancer: (some are controllable; some are not)
 1. Heredity: 5 – 10% of cancers; documented with some breast and
colon cancers
 2. Age: 70% of all cancers occur in persons > 65
 3. Lower socio-economic status
 4. Stress
 a. Leads to greater wear and tear on body in general
5 Diet: certain preservatives in pickled, salted foods; fried foods;
high-fat, low fiber foods; charred foods, high fat foods, diet high in
red meat
 6. Occupational risk: exposure to know carcinogens, radiation, high
stress
 7. Infections, especially specific organisms and organ (e.g.
papillomavirus causing genital warts and leading to cervical cancer)
 8. Tobacco Use: Lung, oral and laryngeal, esophageal, gastric,
pancreatic, bladder cancers
 9. Alcohol Use: also tied with smoking
 10. Sun Exposure (radiation) e.g. skin cancer
 Nursing Care of the Client with Cancer
 Nursing role includes health promotion to lower the
controllable risks
1. Routine medical check up and screenings
2. Client awareness to act if symptoms of cancer occur
3. Screening examination recommendations by American
Cancer Society; specifics are made according to age and
frequencies
 a. Breast Cancer: self-breast exam, breast examination by
health care professionals, screening mammogram
 b. Colon and Rectal Cancer: fecal occult blood, flexible
sigmoidoscopy, colonoscopy
 c. Cervical, Uterine Cancer: Papanicolaou (Pap) test
 d. Prostate Cancer: digital rectal exam, Prostate-specific
antigen (PSA) test
Nursing Care of the Client with Cancer

 Physiology of Cancer
A. Background
1. Normal Cell Growth includes two
events
 a. Replication of cellular DNA
 b. Mitosis (cell division)
Nursing Care of the Client with Cancer

 2. Cell cycle is under control of cyclins, and

suppresor gene products which control
process by working with enzymes;
 cyclins promote cell division
 suppresor gene products limit cell
division
 3. Forms the basis of how some
chemotherapeutic agents work against
cancers
 Nursing Care of the Client with Cancer

 Theories of Carcinogenesis (what causes cancer to

occur)
1. Cellular Mutation
 a. Cells begin to mutate (change the DNA to unnatural
cell reproduction)
2. Oncogenes/Tumor Suppressor Genes Abnormalities
 a. Oncogenes are genes that promote cell proliferation
and can trigger cancer
 b. Tumor suppressor genes normally suppress
oncogenes but are damaged
3. Exposure to Known Carcinogens
 a. Act by directly altering the cellular DNA (genotoxic)
 b. Act by affecting the immune system (promotional)
Nursing Care of the Client with Cancer

4. Viruses
 viruses break the DNA chain and mutates the
normal cells DNA
Epstein-Barr virus
Human papilloma virus
Hepatitis virus
5. Drugs and Hormones
 a. Sex hormones often affect cancers of the
reproductive systems (estrogen in some breast
cancers; testosterone in prostate cancer)
 b. Glucocorticoids and steroids alter immune
system
6. Chemical Agents
 a. Industrial and chemical
 b. Can initiate and promote cancer
 b. Examples: hydrocarbons in soot ; arsenic in
pesticides; chemicals in tobacco
7. Physical Agents
 a. Exposure to radiation
 Ionizing radiation found in x-rays, radium, uranium
 UV radiation
 Sun, tanning beds
8. Immune function
1. Protects the body from cancerous cells
2. Increased rate of cancer in immunocompromised pts
Nursing Care of the Client with Cancer

 Neoplasms: also called tumors (mass of new tissue that grows

independently of surrounding organs
1. Types of neoplasms
a. Benign
 1. Localized growths respond to body’s homeostatic controls
 2. Encapsulated
 3. Stop growing when they meet a boundary of another tissue
 4. Can be destructive
b. Malignant
 1. Have aggressive growth, rapid cell division outside the
normal cell cycle
 2. Not under body’s homeostatic controls
 3. Cut through surrounding tissues causing bleeding,
inflammation, necrosis (death) of tissue
Nursing Care of the Client with Cancer

 Malignant tumors can metastasize

a. Tumor cells travel through blood or lymph
circulation to other body areas and invade tissues
and organs there.
 1. Primary tumor: the original site of the malignancy
 2. Secondary tumor (sites): areas where malignancy
has spread i.e. metastasis (metastatic tumor)
 3. Common sites of metastasis are lymph nodes,
liver, lungs, bones, brain
 4. 50 – 60 % of tumors have metastasized by time
primary tumor identified
b. Cancerous cells must avoid detection by immune
system
 Nursing Care of the Client with Cancer
C. Malignant neoplasms can recur after surgical removal of primary
and secondary tumors and other treatments
D. Malignant neoplasms vary in differentiation.
 a. Highly differentiated are more like the originating
tissue
 b. Undifferentiated neoplasms consist of immature
cells with no resemblance to parent tissue and have no
useful function
E. Malignant cells progress in deviation with each
generation and do no stop growing and die, as do
normal cells
F. Malignant cells are irreversible, i.e. do not revert to
normal
G.Malignant cells promote their own survival by hormone
production, cause vascular permeability; angiogenesis;
divert nutrition from host cells
The steps of metastasis
Nursing Care of the Client with Cancer

 Effects of Cancer
1. Disturbed or loss of physiologic functioning, from pressure or
obstruction
 a. Anoxia and necrosis of organs
 b. Loss of function: bowel or bladder obstruction
 c. Increased intracranial pressure
 d. Interrupted vascular/venous blockage
 e. Ascites
 f. Disturbed liver functioning
 G. Motor and sensory deficits
 Cancer invades bone, brain or compresses nerves
h. Respiratory difficulties
a. Airway obstruction
b. Decreased lung capacity
 Nursing Care of the Client with Cancer
2. Hematologic Alterations: Impaired function of blood cells
1. Secondary to any cancer that invades the bone marrow (leukemia)
2. May also be caused by the treatment
 a. Abnormal wbc’s: impaired immunity
 b. Diminished rbc’s and platelets: anemia and clotting
disorders
3. Infections: fistula development and tumors may become
necrotic; erode skin surface
4. Hemorrhage: tumor erosion, bleeding, severe anemia
5. Anorexia-Cachexia Syndrome: wasting away of client
 a. Unexplained rapid weight loss, anorexia with altered smell
and taste
 b. Catabolic state: use of body’s tissues and muscle proteins
to support cancer cell growth
Nursing Care of the Client with Cancer
6. Paraneoplastic Syndromes: ectopic sites with excess hormone
production
 a. Parathyroid hormone (hypercalcemia)
 b. Ectopic secretion of insulin (hypoglycemia)
 c. Antidiuretic hormone (ADH: fluid retention)
 d. Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)
7. Pain: major concern of clients and families
a. Types of cancer pain
 1. Acute: symptom that led to diagnosis
 2. Chronic: may be related to treatment or to progression of
disease
b. Causes of pain
 1. Direct tumor involvement including metastatic pain
 2. Nerve compression
 3. Involvement of visceral organs
Nursing Care of the Client with Cancer

8. Physical Stress: body tries to respond and destroy

neoplasm
 a. Fatigue
 b. Weight loss
 c. Anemia
 d. Dehydration
 e. Electrolyte imbalances
9. Psychological Stress
 a. Cancer equals death sentence
 b. Guilt from poor health habits
 c. Fear of pain, suffering, death
 d. Stigmatized
Nursing Care of the Client with Cancer

 Collaborative Care
A.Diagnostic Tests: used to diagnose cancer
1.Determine location of cancer
 a. Xrays
 b. Computed tomography
 c. Ultrasounds
 d. Magnetic resonance imaging
 e. Nuclear imaging
 f. Angiography
2.Diagnosis of cellular type of can be done through tissue
samples from biopsies, shedded cells (e.g. Papanicolaou
smear) washings
 a. Cytologic Examination: tissue examined under microscope
 b. Identification System of Tumors: Classification – Grading --
Staging
Nursing Care of the Client with Cancer

1. Classification: according to the tissue or cell

of origin, e.g. sarcoma, from supportive
2. Grading:
 a. Evaluates degree of differentiation and
rate of growth
 b. Grade 1 (least aggressive) to Grade 4
(most aggressive)
3. Staging
 a. Relative tumor size and extent of disease
 b. TNM (Tumor size; Nodes: lymph node
involvement; Metastases)
Nursing Care of the Client with Cancer

3. Tumor markers: specific proteins which indicate

malignancy
 a. PSA (Prostatic-specific antigen): prostate cancer
 b. CEA (Carcinoembryonic antigen): colon cancer
 c. Alkaline Phosphatase: bone metastasis
4 Direct Visualization
 a. Sigmoidoscopy
 b. Cystoscopy
 c. Endoscopy
 d. Bronchoscopy
 e. Exploratory surgery; lymph node biopsies to
determine metastases
Nursing Care of the Client with Cancer

Other non-specific tests

 a. CBC, Differential
 b. Electrolytes
 c. Blood Chemistries: (liver enzymes:
alanine aminotransferase (ALT); aspartate
aminotransferase (AST) lactic
dehydrogenase (LDH)
Nursing Care of the Client with Cancer
Treatment Goals: depending on type and stage of cancer
A. Cure
 1. Recover from specific cancer with treatment
 2. Alert for reoccurrence
 3. May involve rehabilitation with physical and
occupational therapy
B. Control: of symptoms and progression of cancer
 1. Continued surveillance
 2. Treatment when indicated (e.g. some bladder cancer,
prostate cancer)
C. Palliation of symptoms: may involve terminal care if
client’s cancer is not responding to treatment
Nursing Care of the Client with Cancer

Treatment Options (depend on type of cancer)

alone or with combination
A. Chemotherapy
 1. Effects are systemic and kills the
metastatic cells
 2. Often combinations of drugs in specific
protocols over varying time periods
 Much more effective then a single agent
 Consider the timing of the nadir of each drug
• The time when the bone marrow activity and WBC counts
are at their lowest levels after chemo
• Different times for different drugs
 3. Cell-kill hypothesis: with each cell
cycle a percentage of cancerous cells
are killed but some remain; repeating
chemo kills more cells until those left
can be handled by body’s immune
system
Nursing Care of the Client with Cancer

B. Classes of Chemotherapy Drugs

1. Alkylating agents
 1. Action: create defects in tumor DNA
 2. Examples: Nitrogen Mustard, Cisplatin
2. Antimetabolites
 1. Action: similar to metabolites needed for vital cell
processes
 Counterfeit metabolites interfere with cell division
 2. Examples: Methotrexate; 5 fluorouracil
 3. Toxic Effects: nausea, vomiting, stomatitis, diarrhea,
alopecia, leukopenia
3. Antitumor Antibiotics
 1. Action: interfere with DNA
 2. Examples: Actinomycin D, Bleomycin
 3. Toxic Effect: damage to cardiac muscle
 Nursing Care of the Client with Cancer

4. Antimiotic agents
 1. Action: Prevent cell division
 2. Examples: Vincristine, Vinblastine
 3. Toxic Effects: affects neurotransmission,
alopecia, bone marrow depression
5. Hormone agonist
 1. Action: large amounts of hormones upset the
balance and alter the uptake of other hormones
necessary for cell division
 2. Example: estrogen, progestin, androgen
6. Hormone Antagonist
 1. Action: block hormones on hormone-
binding tumors (breast, prostate,
endometrium; cause tumor regression
 Decreasing the amount of hormones can decrease
the cancer growth rate
 Does not cure, but increases survival rates
 2. Examples: Tamoxifen (breast); Flutamide
(prostate)
 3. Toxic Effects: altered secondary sex
characteristics
 7. Hormone inhibitors
Aromatase inhibitors (Arimidex, Aromasin)
 Prevents production of aromatase which is
needed for estrogen production
 Used in post menopausal women
 Side effects
• Masculinizing effects in women
• Fluid retention
Nursing Care of the Client with Cancer

Effects of Chemotherapy
 a. Tissues (fast growing) frequently affected
 b. Examples: mucous membranes, hair cells, bone marrow,
specific organs with specific agents, reproductive organs (all
fetal toxic, impair ability to reproduce).

Administration of chemotherapeutic agents

a. Trained and certified personnel, according to established
guidelines
b. Preparation
 1. Protect personnel from toxic effects
 Drugs absorbed through skin and mucous membranes
 Protective clothing and extreme care
 2. Extreme care for correct dosage; double check with
physician orders, pharmacist’s preparation
c. Proper management clients’ excrement
Nursing Care of the Client with Cancer

d. Routes
 1. Oral
 2. Body cavity (intraperitoneal or
intrapleural)
 3. Intravenous
a. Use of vascular access devices because of
threat of extravasation (leakage into
tissues) and long-term therapy
a. If the drug is a vessicant it may result in pain,
infection and tissue loss
e.Types of vascular access devices
 1. PICC lines (peripherally inserted
central catheters)
 2. Tunnelled catheters (Hickman,
Groshong)
 3. Surgically implanted ports (accessed
with 90o angle needle
Hickman Catheter
Portacath
PICC Line
Nursing Care of the Client with Cancer

Managing side effects of chemotherapy

 A. Nausea and vomiting
80% of patients will develop it
Antiemetics such as Zofran, Tigan,
Compazine as well as Ativan to control the
symptoms
Monitor for dehydration and need for IV
fluids
 B. Bone marrow suppression
Decreased number of RBC
 Leads to hypoxia, fatigue
 Hgb 9.5-10 gm/dl require oral iron supplements
 Hgb below 8 gm/dl require transfusion
 May use Epogen to stimulate RBC production
 Decrease number of WBC (normal 4,500-11,000
mm3) especially neutrophils (normal 3,000-7,000
cells/cc)
 Neutropenia-count below 2000
 Pt at extreme risk for infection
 May order granulocyte colony stimulating factor (leukine) to
stimulate bone marrow to increase WBC count

 Neutropenic precautions
 Private room
 Good handwashing
 Monitor temp q 4 hours, monitor for chills, UTI, pneumonia
 Limit visitors to healthy adults
 No flowers or plants
 Monitor neutrophil count
 Thrombocytopenia
 Drop in platlet count (normal 150,000-400,000/mm3)
below 100,000
 Test pt for bleeding in stool and urine
 Avoid punctures for IV or IM
 Handle pt gently
 Use electric razor
 Avoid placing foley or rectal thermometers
 Avoid oral trauma with soft bristle brushes, avoid
flossing, avoid hard candy
 Watch for ALOC, pupil changes that might indicate
intracranial bleeds
 Stool softeners to avoid straining
C. Mucocitis
Inflammation and ulceration of mucous
membranes and entire GI tract
Rinse mouth with ½ normal saline and ½
peroxide every 12 hours
Topical analgesic medication
Avoid mouthwashes with alcohol
Avoid spicy or hard food
Watch nutritional status
D. Alopecia
Hair loss
2-3 weeks after treatment is started
Affects all the hair, including eyebrows,
eyelashes
Within 4-8 weeks after treatment hair begins
to grow back
Before hair loss, have the pt pick out a wig
that is similar to hair color
E. Peripheral neuropathy
Numbness and tingling to fingers and toes
in a glove and sock pattern
May cause gait and possible fall problems
F. Provide emotional and spiritual
support to patient and families
Nursing Care of the Client with Cancer

Surgery
 1. Diagnosis, staging, and sometimes treatment of cancer
 2. May be prophylaxis or removal of at risk tissue or organ
prior to development of cancer (breast cancer)
 3. Involves removal of body part, organ, sometimes with
altered functioning (e.g. colostomy)
 4. Debulking (decrease size of) tumors in advanced cases
 5. Reconstruction and rehabilitation (e.g. breast implant post
mastectomy)
 6. Palliative surgery to improve the quality of life
 Removal of tumor tissue that is causing pain or obstruction
 5. Psychological support to deal with surgery as well as
cancer diagnosis
 Nursing Care of the Client with Cancer
Radiation Therapy
1. Treatment of choice for some tumors to kill or
reduce tumor, relieve pain or obstruction
 Destroy cancer cells with minimal exposure to normal cells
 Cells die or are unable to divide
2. Delivery
 a. Teletherapy (external): radiation delivered in
uniform dose to tumor
 Beam radiation
 b. Brachytherapy: delivers high dose to tumor and
less to other tissues; radiation source is placed in
tumor or next to it in the form of seeds
 Radiation source within the patient so pt emits radiation for
a period of time and is a hazard to others
 c. Combination
3. Goals
 a. Maximum tumor control with minimal
damage to normal tissues
 b. Caregivers must protect selves by using
shields, distancing and limiting time with
client, following safety protocols
 Private room
 Caution sign on the door for radioactive material
 Dosimeter film badge by staff
 No pregnant staff
 Limit visitors to ½ hour per day and keep them at
least 6 ft from the source
Nursing Care of the Client with Cancer

4. Treatment Schedules
 a. Planned according to radiosensitivity of tumor,
tolerance of client
 b. Monitor blood cell counts
5. Side Effects
 a. Skin (external radiation): blanching, erythema,
sloughing, breakdown
 Use mild soak
 Dry skin with a patting motion, not rubbing
 Don’t use powders or lotions unless prescribed by
radiologist
 Wear soft clothing over the site
 Avoid the sun and heat
 b. Ulcerated mucous membranes: pain, lack
of saliva (xerostoma)
 c. Gastrointestinal: nausea and vomiting,
diarrhea, bleeding, sometimes fistula
formation
 d. Radiation pneumonitis
 1-3 months after treatment
 Cough, SOB, fever
 Treated with steroids to decrease inflammation
Nursing Care of the Client with Cancer

Monoclonal antibodies (inoculate

animal with tumor antigen and retrieve
antibodies against tumor for human)
Antibodies target specific substances
needed by the cancer cell for growth
(Herceptin for breast cancer)
Gene therapy
 experimental
 May insert gene into the tumor cells to
make them more susceptible to being
killed by antiviral agents
 May insert genes for cytokines that
increase their effectiveness in killing
cancer cells
Angiogenesis inhibitor drugs
 prevent new blood vessels from
forming and delivering blood to the
tissue
 Nursing Care of the Client with Cancer

F. Bone Marrow Transplantation and Peripheral Blood Stem Cell

Transplantation
 1. Stimulation of nonfunctioning marrow or replace bone marrow
 2. Common treatment for leukemias
G. Pain Control
 1. Includes pain directly from cancer, treatment, or unrelated
 2. Necessary for continuing function or comfort in terminally ill
clients
 3. Goal is maximum relief with minimal side effects
 4. Multiple combinations of analgesics (narcotic and non-
narcotic) and adjuvants such as steroids or antidepressants;
includes around the clock (ATC) schedule with additional
medications for break-through pain
 5. Multiple routes of medications
 6. May involve injections of anesthetics into nerve, surgical
severing of nerves radiation
 7. May need to progress to stronger pain medications as pain
increases and client develops tolerance to pain medication
 Nursing Care of the Client with Cancer
 Nursing Diagnoses for Clients with Cancer
A. Anxiety
 1. Therapeutic interactions with client and family; community
resources such as American Cancer Society, “I Can Cope”
 2. Availability of community resources for terminally ill (Hospice
care in-patient, home care)
B. Disturbed Body Image
 1. Includes loss of body parts (e.g. amputations); appearance
changes (skin, hair); altered functions (e.g. colostomy); cachexic
appearance, loss of energy, ability to be productive
 2. Fear of rejection, stigma
C. Anticipatory Grieving
 1. Facing death and making preparations for death: will be
consideration
 2. Offer realistic hope that cancer treatment may be successful
Nursing Care of the Client with Cancer
D. Risk for Infection
E. Risk for Injury
 1. Organ obstruction
 2. Pathological fractures
F. Altered Nutrition: less than body requirements
 1. Consultation with dietician, lab evaluation of nutritional
status
 2. Managing problems with eating: anorexia, nausea and
vomiting
 3. May involve use of parenteral nutrition
G. Impaired Tissue Integrity
 1. Oral, pharyngeal, esophageal tissues (due to chemotherapy,
bleeding due to low platelet counts, fungal infections such as
thrush)
 2. Teach inspection, frequent oral hygiene, specific non-
irritating products, thrush control
 Nursing Care of the Client with Cancer

Oncologic Emergencies
A. Pericaridal Effusion and Neoplastic
Cardiac Tamponade
 1. Concern: compression of heart by fluid
in pericardial sac, compromised cardiac
output
 2. Treatment: pericardiocentesis
B. Superior Vena Cava Syndrome
 1. obstruction of venous system with
increased venous pressure and stasis; facial
and neck edema with slow progression to
respiration distress
 Late signs are cyanosis, decreased cardiac output
and hypotension
 2. Treatment: respiratory support; decrease
tumor size with radiation or chemotherapy
Compression of the superior vena cava in SVC
syndrome
C. Sepsis and Septic Shock
 1. Early recognition of infection
Patients at risk secondary to low WBC and
impaired immune system
 2. Treatment: prompt intervention with
antibiotics and vasopressors
 D. DIC disseminated intravascular
coagulation
Triggered by severe illness, usually sepsis
in cancer patients
Abnormal clotting uses up existing clotting
factors and platelets quickly then the pt
hemorrhages
Mortality rate is 70%
Prevention of sepsis is key
Nursing Care of the Client with Cancer

E. Spinal Cord Compression

 1. Pressure from expanding tumor or
vertebral collapse can cause irreversible
paraplegia
 2. Back pain initial symptom with
progressive paresthesia and paralysis
 Paralysis is usually permanent
 3. Treatment: early detection
 High dose corticosteroid to decrease the swelling
 radiation or surgical decompression
F.Obstructive Uropathy
 1. Concern: blockage of urine flow;
undiagnosed can result in renal failure
 2. Treatment: restore urine flow
G. Hypercalcemia
 1. High calcium (normal 9-10.5) usually from bone metastases
 2. May also come from cancer of the lung, head, neck, kidney
and lymph nodes that secrete parathyroid hormone that causes
the bone to release calcium
 2. Symptoms include fatigue, muscle weakness, polyuria,
constipation, progressing to coma, seizures
 3. Treatment
 restore fluids with intravenous saline which also increases the
excretion of calcium
 loop diuretics increase calcium excretion
 Calcium chelators such as mithracin
 Inhibit calcium resorption from the bone with calcitonin,
diphosphonate
H. Tumor Lysis Syndrome
 1. Occurs with rapid necrosis of tumor cells
with chemotherapy
 When tumor cells die they release potassium and
purines
 Potassium (norm 3.5-5.5) elevation causes cardiac
arrhthymias, muscle weakness, twitching, cramps
 Purines convert to uric acid which causes renal
failure, flank pain, gout when elevated above 10
mg/dl
 Hyperphosphatemia with secondary to
hypocalcemia causes heart block, HTN, renal failure
 Treatment
Hydration
Instruct pt to increase fluid intake before
and after chemo
May need IV hydration
Diuretics to increase urine flow
Allopurinol to increase uric acid excretion
May need dialysis
Nursing Care of the Client with Cancer

I. SIADH (Syndrome of Inappropriate Antidiuretic Hormone

Secretion)
 1. Ectopic ADH production from tumor leads to excessive
hyponatremia
 2. holds onto too much fluid which decreases sodium level
(normal 135-145)
 3. Symptoms
 Weakness, muscle cramps, fatigue, ALOC, headache, seizures
 2. Treatment: restore sodium level
 Fluid restriction
 Increase sodium
 Antibiotic demeclocycline works in opposition to ADH
 Limits ADH effect on distal renal tubules so they can excrete water