Exam 15: Management of Patients With Oncologic Disorders

You are caring for an adult patient who has developed a mild oral yeast infection following chemotherapy. What actions should you encourage the patient to perform? Select all that apply.

The nurse is orienting a new nurse to the oncology unit. When reviewing the safe administration of antineoplastic agents, what action should the nurse emphasize?

A 62-year-old woman diagnosed with breast cancer is scheduled for a partial mastectomy. The oncology nurse explained that the surgeon will want to take tissue samples to ensure the disease has not spread to adjacent axillary lymph nodes. The patient has asked if she will have her lymph nodes dissected, like her mother did several years ago. What alternative to lymph node dissection will this patient most likely undergo?

A nurse is creating a plan of care for an oncology patient and one of the identified nursing diagnoses is risk for infection related to myelosuppression. What intervention addresses the leading cause of infection-related death in oncology patients?

A 16-year-old female patient experiences alopecia resulting from chemotherapy, prompting the nursing diagnoses of disturbed body image and situational low self-esteem. What action by the patient would best indicate that she is meeting the goal of improved body image and self-esteem?

You are caring for a patient who has just been told that her stage IV colon cancer has recurred and metastasized to the liver. The oncologist offers the patient the option of surgery to treat the progression of this disease. What type of surgery does the oncologist offer?

The clinic nurse is caring for a 42-year-old male oncology patient. He complains of extreme fatigue and weakness after his first week of radiation therapy. Which response by the nurse would best reassure this patient?

A patient with a diagnosis of gastric cancer has been unable to tolerate oral food and fluid intake and her tumor location precludes the use of enteral feeding. What intervention should the nurse identify as best meeting this patients nutritional needs?

A 58-year-old male patient has been hospitalized for a wedge resection of the left lower lung lobe after a routine chest $\mathrm{x}$ -ray shows carcinoma. The patient is anxious and asks if he can smoke. Which statement by the nurse would be most therapeutic?

An oncology nurse is contributing to the care of a patient who has failed to respond appreciably to conventional cancer treatments. As a result, the care team is considering the possible use of biologic response modifiers (BRFs). The nurse should know that these achieve a therapeutic effect by what means?

The school nurse is teaching a nutrition class in the local high school. One student states that he has heard that certain foods can increase the incidence of cancer. The nurse responds, Research has shown that certain foods indeed appear to increase the risk of cancer. Which of the following menu selections would be the best choice for potentially reducing the risks of cancer?

A nurse provides care on a bone marrow transplant unit and is preparing a female patient for a hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) the following day. What information should the nurse emphasize to the patients family and friends?

A 60-year-old patient with a diagnosis of prostate cancer is scheduled to have an interstitial implant for high-dose radiation (HDR). What safety measure should the nurse include in this patients subsequent plan of care?

Traditionally, nurses have been involved with tertiary cancer prevention. However, an increasing emphasis is being placed on both primary and secondary prevention. What would be an example of primary prevention?

A patient newly diagnosed with cancer is scheduled to begin chemotherapy treatment and the nurse is providing anticipatory guidance about potential adverse effects. When addressing the most common adverse effect, what should the nurse describe?

While a patient is receiving IV doxorubicin hydrochloride for the treatment of cancer, the nurse observes swelling and pain at the IV site. The nurse should prioritize what action?

The nurse is caring for a 39-year-old woman with a family history of breast cancer. She requested a breast tumor marking test and the results have come back positive. As a result, the patient is requesting a bilateral mastectomy. This surgery is an example of what type of oncologic surgery?

A nurse who works in an oncology clinic is assessing a patient who has arrived for a 2-month follow-up appointment following chemotherapy. The nurse notes that the patients skin appears yellow. Which blood tests should be done to further explore this clinical sign?

A patient on the oncology unit is receiving carmustine, a chemotherapy agent, and the nurse is aware that a significant side effect of this medication is thrombocytopenia. Which symptom should the nurse assess for in patients at risk for thrombocytopenia?

A 54-year-old has a diagnosis of breast cancer and is tearfully discussing her diagnosis with the nurse. The patient states, They tell me my cancer is malignant, while my coworkers breast tumor was benign. I just dont understand at all. When preparing a response to this patient, the nurse should be cognizant of what characteristic that distinguishes malignant cells from benign cells of the same tissue type?