Since 2008, electronic health record adoption has increased 41% — an rise attributable to a mandate from the U.S. government and paid incentives to doctors’ offices and health care provider networks to make investments in the technology. Although there’s still a long road ahead in terms of achieving meaningful use incentives, this slideshow explores the…
Radiation therapy (RT) utilizes high energy beams or charged particles to damage DNA and generate free radicals from cell water that can harm cancer cells.1 Cancer cells are more vulnerable to radiation due to the faster rate of cancer cell division.1 This slideshow reviews the uses, benefits, types, side effects, and toxicities associated with radiation…
Cancer cachexia is a complex metabolic reaction characterized as a decrease in lipogenesis and muscle proteins, as well as an increase in acute phase proteins, energy expenditure, proteolysis, glucose turnover, lipolysis, and ketone bodies caused by a combination of the malignancy and the treatment of the cancer itself.4 As a result, patients present with anorexia…
Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is used as an adjunct to traditional therapies in an effort to provide supportive care in improving symptom control and patient well-being.1 Incorporating CAM in oncology has led to the development of integrative oncology where an emphasis is also placed in the emotional, spiritual, and mental needs of patients with…
Patients receiving treatment for cancer can experience a number of potential side effects and reactions. Clinicians should be aware of the adverse events that can result from administration of certain agents. Fatigue can result from a number of factors, including anemia, depression, and radiation therapy.1 Similarly, alopecia affects many patients and can be one of…
Compared to the severe adverse effects of chemotherapy, chemotherapy-induced alopecia (CIA) is surprisingly one of the more troubling aspects of chemotherapy to patients.[2] (Slide 1) In a study of 18- to 38-year-old males and females with cancer, both genders expressed feelings of being exposed and judged.[9] Normal hair growth is comprised of three phases: 1)…
Chief Complaint MP is a 38-year-old woman who comes to the clinic with a temperature of 101F and complains of abdominal pain approximately 14 days after her last chemotherapy treatment. Results of Last Visit During her last appointment, MP denied fevers, chills, or other signs/symptoms of infection but, due to laboratory results, was initiated on…
The incidence of cancer diagnoses is increasing worldwide as the world’s population grows and people continue to live longer. As a result, chemotherapy-related skin toxicities are on the rise and clinicians and patients alike should be prepared to recognize these disorders.
