Pharmacology
This antimetabolite chemotherapy drug is also used to treat certain autoimmune diseases and requires monitoring of liver function and folic acid supplementation.
What is methotrexate?
This age-related change causes decreased drug metabolism, leading to a higher risk for toxicity in older adults.
What is decreased liver function.
This common postoperative complication in older adults may mimic dementia but is actually acute and reversible if treated promptly.
What is delirium.
Associated with cardiac dysrhythmias.
What is potassium.
This term describes the process by which normal cells are transformed into cancer cells.
What is carcinogenesis.
This platinum-based chemotherapeutic agent commonly used for gastrointestinal and genitourinary cancers is highly nephrotoxic and ototoxic.
What is cisplatin?
This screening test is recommended every 10 years beginning at age 45 for the early detection of colorectal cancer.
What is a colonoscopy
The nurse knows that this type of cancer surgery is performed to determine the extent or stage of the disease.
What is diagnostic or staging surgery.
This lab test often decreases with age, leading to potential misdiagnosis of anemia if not interpreted carefully in older adults.
What is hemoglobin.
Older adults receiving chemotherapy are at increased risk for this complication due to decreased bone marrow reserve.
What is myelosuppression (or bone marrow suppression).
This antiandrogen medication is used in the treatment of prostate cancer by blocking the effects of testosterone at receptor sites.
What is flutamide?
This is the most critical lab value to monitor before administering chemotherapy to a patient.
What is white blood cell count.
After surgical removal of a tumor, the nurse teaches the patient that this type of therapy may be used postoperatively to destroy remaining microscopic cancer cells.
What is adjuvant therapy.
Low levels of this plasma protein may indicate poor nutritional status or liver dysfunction in older adults undergoing chemotherapy.
What is albumin.
This nursing intervention supports coping and quality of life for older adults adjusting to a cancer diagnosis.
What is emotional support and participation in decision making.
This targeted therapy drug used to treat chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) works by inhibiting specific tyrosine kinase enzymes that promote cancer cell growth.
What is imatinib (Gleevec)?
This is the most common cause of injury and hospitalization among older adults living at home.
What are falls.
This physiological change in older adults can alter the way chemotherapy drugs are metabolized and excreted, requiring close monitoring of lab values.
What is decreased renal and hepatic function.
This lab value often decreases as a side effect of chemotherapy, increasing infection risk in older adults.
What is white blood cell count.
“This modifiable lifestyle factor is the leading preventable cause of cancer in older adults.”
What is smoking.
This topoisomerase I inhibitor is used for ovarian and small cell lung cancer and can cause severe bone marrow suppression and gastrointestinal toxicity, including diarrhea.
What is topotecan?
This oncologic emergency occurs when a tumor compresses the spinal cord, leading to back pain, weakness, and loss of bladder control.
What is spinal cord compression.
A patient is scheduled for a colectomy for colon cancer. The nurse explains that the purpose of the surgery is to remove the tumor before it spreads. This type of surgery is called:
What is curative surgery.
This lab value helps assess protein stores and nutritional status in older cancer patients, as poor nutrition can impair healing and immune response.
What is serum albumin.
This is the most common type of cancer found in adults over age 65.
What is skin cancer.