Cancer Fundamentals
What is the difference between a benign tumor and a cancerous tumor?
Cancerous tumor metastasizes.
What kind of cancer treatment uses high-energy beams to damage the DNA of cancer cells?
Radiation Therapy
What is mucositis?
Inflammation of the mucous membranes, often occurs with chemo or radiation.
What does metastasizing mean?
The cancer cells are spreading from the primary location to another part of the body.
What type of radiation delivery method uses a machine outside the body to direct beams toward a tumor?
External beam therapy.
What is debulking cancer surgery?
Debulking surgery removes as much as the cancerous tumor as safely possible, does not remove the entire tumor.
What do the letters stand for in TNM cancer staging?
T- tumor
N- lymph nodes
M- metastasis
What type of chemotherapy given before the primary treatment to shrink a tumor?
What is thrombocytopenia and what should we be monitoring for in our patient?
low platelet count; monitor for signs of bleeding or bruising.
Is HPV vaccination primary or secondary prevention of cancer?
Primary.
What type of radiation method places radioactive seeds or sources inside or close to the tumor?
Brachytherapy (internal beam)
What oncologic emergency results from the rapid destruction of a mass of malignant cells?
Tumor Lysis Syndrome.
Name the 7 warning signs of cancer: CAUTION
C- change in bowel or bladder; A- a sore that does not heal; U- unusual discharge or bleeding; T- thickening or lump; I- indigestion/difficulty swallowing; O- obvious changes in warts or moles; N- nagging cough
What chemotherapy complication can cause neutropenia, anemia, and thrombocytopenia?
A patient receiving chemotherapy has a low white blood cell count. What is the nurse's priority intervention?
Preventing infection by hand hygiene and monitor for signs of infection in the patient.