Nausea During Chemotherapy
Nausea is considered one of the worst symptoms associated with a patient undergoing chemotherapy treatments. Nausea is a “subjective phenomenon of an unpleasant feeling in the back of the throat and stomach that may or may not result in vomiting” (Ralph & Taylor, 2011, p. 210). The main reason being that when a patient develops nausea, he or she are more likely to run into more symptoms such as vomiting, malnourishment due to the lack of eating, dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, and physical and emotional deterioration (Hawkins & Grunberg, 2009, p. 55).
The nurse is responsible for assessing their patient’s reactions and side effects to chemotherapy, before and after treatments. The health assessment to check for nausea will include a thorough health history, the patient’s current nutritional and psychosocial status. A patient that is experiencing nausea may have the following characteristics: gagging sensation, sour taste in mouth, gastric stasis, increased salivation, reports of nausea or “feeling sick to stomach”, and/or increased swallowing (Ralph & Taylor, 2011, p. 210).
A pharmaceutical regimen is one of the most common treatments for nausea related to chemotherapy. Most of the time doctors will prescribe multiple medications in combination due to the effectiveness. Metoclopramide, a well-known dopamine receptor antagonist, is used as antiemetic to help ease mild to moderate chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting or CINV. If a provider has a suspicion that their patient will experience CINV, they will treat them prophylactically with corticosteroids, such as Dexamethasone, and an antiemetic. The corticosteroids and dopamine receptor antagonists are mainly used for delayed CINV, while...
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...nage malnutrition in patients with chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. ONC Connect , 27 (8), 16-17.
Davidson, W., Teleni, L., Muller, J., Ferguson, M., McCarthy, A. L., Vick, J., et al. (2012). Malnution and chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting: implications for practice. Oncology Nursing Forum , 39 (4), E340-E345.
Hawkins, R., & Grunberg, S. (2009). Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting: challenges and oportunities for improved patient outcomes. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing , 13 (1), 54-64.
Karagozoglu, S., Tekyasar, F., & Yilmaz, F. A. (2013). Effects of music therapy and guided visual imagery on chemotherapy-induced anxiety and nausea-vomiting. Journal of Clinical Nursing , 22 (1/2), 39-50.
Ralph, S. S., & Taylor, C. M. (2011). Nursing Diagnosis Reference Manual. Philadelphia, Pensylvania: Wolters Kluwer Health, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Such care can include medicines to treat symptoms such as pain, breathing difficulties, fatigue, and nausea.
(AC 1.1, 2.1) Jane may be uncertain about the side effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. This is the time when the oncology nurse will use her specialist knowledge, will answer all questions that Jane is not sure and even if she does not know the answer she will find out by working with other team members. Based on the nurse’s oncology knowledge and experience her communication skills will make Jane and her family think positively about treatment; not only at the beginning of cancer treatment but also during and at the end however it turns out.
Chemotherapy drugs are more dangerous than other drugs because of their narrow therapeutic index. What is therapeutic index you ask? It is the ratio between a toxic dose and a therapeutic dose of a drug so any medication error with chemotherapy drugs could be a fatal one. Chemotherapy drugs can be very toxic even at the prescribed therapeutic level recommended by the physician. The findings in this article shows that the patient themselves are the first line of defense in spotting errors in medications they receive because they obs...
Seron-Arbeloa, C., Zamora-Elson, M., Labarta-Monzon, L., & Mallor-Bonet, T. (2013). Enteral nutrition in critical care. Journal of Clinical Medicine Research, 5(1), 1-11. doi:10.4021/jocmr1210w
Anorexia is a mental illness that can be identified by its victims starving themselves in order to drop weight to dangerous levels. Most often, anorexics will restrict their food or exercise excessively in order to decrease their body weight. Anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. This is mainly due to suicide and the complications that occur consequently from starvation. These complications include heart and kidney failure as well as osteoporosis and muscle atrophy. Females may also stop menstruating. The gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, and endocrine systems may also be affected. Thus, Anorexia has detrimental effects on a person’s physical and mental health.
According to World Health Organization, cancer pain can be controlled effectively with oral morphine in up to 90% of individuals with cancer (Ahmed, et al. 2010). Cancer patients benefit significantly from the effects of morphine on severe or chronic pain (Weil and Winifred 2004). A common treatment plan for cancer patients is to follow the “analgesic ladder” approach. The first step in this approach is to administer a non-opioid analgesic, such as aspirin, paracetamol, or a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (Hanks, et al., 1996). Secondly, a week opioid is administered to the individual. Once the weak opioid is proven inadequate the third step is followed and a strong opioid is administered. ...
The side effects brought on by chemotherapy are very harsh on the body. These side effects occur because the chemo agents are poisonous and cancer cells and normal cells are very similar so it is very difficult to leave normal cells unharmed causing the patient to experience side effects while undergoing chemo. These side effects can include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, hair loss, mouth sores, skin changes, and low blood counts. These side effects don't...
Voluntary self-starvation, anorexia nervosa, is physically and psychologically dangerous. Loss of the body fat from the severe weight loss can impair the body by putting stress on the bones from lack of calcium. Dehydration can be deadly because the body needs the correct water balance, and without this proper balance, the kidneys can shut down. Malnutrition can lead to brain damage. Amenorrhea can cause infertility and put stress on tiny bones making them prone to breakage. Amenorrhea can also produce an interference of the reproductive hormone that protects the body against heart failure and osteoporosis. Severe depression in anorexics occurs from hopelessness and shame and can lead to suicide. Even though the behavioral, nutritional, cognitive, interpersonal, and psychotherapy treatment for anorexia is a long-term process, it is crucial to the anorexic person to receive treatment, or the physical consequences and psychological consequences can lead to permanent damage and sometimes death. Notable research on the treatment of the anorexic continues worldwide.
...essive episodes (CareNotes). As chemo is administered, patients may aquire other issues, such as a loss in appitite, less energy, sores in the mouth, pain throughout the body, an increased heartbeat, coughing or breathing issues, and confusion (CareNotes). According to CareNotes, patients must stay away from people that are sick, due to a decreased immune system, and they must drink a lot of water to stay hydrated.
Effective treatment of cancer pain is essential for ensuring the best outcomes for cancer patients, in terms of physical, psychological and social aspects. Although there are no NICE guidelines for management of cancer pain, WHO guidance should be used to inform clinical practice. Careful assessment is a critical element of the process to ensure that patients are offered the treatment which is likely to offer the best outcomes, yet without providing a greater than necessary risk of complications such as tolerance and addiction to opioids. The main outcome that this paper highlights is that “Pain is what the patient says it is and exists when he says it does” (McCaffery 1983
Another treatment that is used to help a cancer patients overcome the disease is radiation therapy. Although very affective and used commonly, thi...
Spark Ralph, S. & Taylor, C. M. (2011). Nursing diagnosis reference manual (8th ed.). Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Diarrhea is caused by damage to the lining of the stomach and digestive track, a good diet may help with diarrhea. Fatigue is the most common side effect of chemotherapy, it effect over 70 percent of chemotherapy patients, to help fatigue it might be good to move around but it is also good to rest. Infertility are common side effects for both men and women. Chemotherapy tries to kill cancer cells, but sometimes damages other cells too including the roots of your hair, patients don’t just lose the hair on their head but pretty much all their hair. Hair normally grows back 3-10 months after treatment ends, people often cover their head with a hat, scarf, or wig. Chemotherapy causes a lower immune system which can lead to infection, and when you have cancer any infection is serious and possibly deadly. Cognitive function is a result of chemotherapy, people experience trouble remembering, concentrating, and multi-tasking. Chemotherapy induced mucositis cause the lining in the mouth, throat, and digestive track to break and form ulcers, morphine may be prescribed to help with the pain. Nails may become thin and yellow and the skin may experience itchiness, redness, and dryness. “About 70-80 percent of patients on chemotherapy will have nausea and vomiting.” (Metcalf) Chemotherapy can hurt the nervous
Palliative care is about maintaining and improving quality of life for patients with terminal illness. Optimal nutrition is one essential component to maintaining quality of life, especially in early stages of illness. Malnourishment has been found to be the cause of death for many cancer patients (Prevost & Grach, 2012). In addition, according to research by Dahele and Fearon (as cited in Prevost & Grach, 2012), lower quality of life scores have been reported in extremely ill and malnourished patients.
Sidiropoulos, Michael. "Anorexia Nervosa: The physiological consequences of starvation and the need for primary prevention efforts." McGill Journal of Medicine 10.1 (2007): 20-25. National Center for Biotechnology Information. Web. 18 Apr. 2014. .