A 78-year-old woman presents at the emergency department with ...

[serike]

A 78-year-old woman presents at the emergency department with complaints of shortness of breath. She has a history of radiation therapy for a lung mass 7 years ago.
 
  When the client asks the nurse if it could be cancer again, the most therapeutic response would be:
  1. At your age, shortness of breath could be a result of any number of things.
  2. That is a possibility but it could also be a result of your radiation therapy.
  3. What makes you think that? Shortness of breath can have many different caus-es.
  4. I wouldn't jump to that conclusion. Let's just see what your health care provider thinks.

Question 2

Which of the following assessment data best confirms the possibility of cognitive impairment in a client with a diagnosis of lung cancer?
 
  1. Client is observed writing questions to ask his oncologist.
  2. Client states, I seem to be a little more forgetful lately.
  3. Client's wife states, I have to remind him of everything.
  4. Client overheard asking son, Where did I put my glasses?

[maya.nigrin17@yahoo.com]

Answer to Question 1

ANS: 2
Cancer survivors are at increased risk for cancer (either a recurrence of the cancer for which they were treated or a second cancer) and for a wide range of treatment-related problems (IOM, 2006).
While shortness of breath could be caused by many things, it does not address the client's con-cern regarding reoccurring cancer.
While shortness of breath could be caused by many things, it does not address the client's con-cern regarding reoccurring cancer.
Telling the client not to jump to conclusions minimizes the client's concern.

Answer to Question 2

ANS: 2
Cognitive changes are a set of physical symptoms very common in survivors that develop from their disease, treatment, the complications of treatment, underlying medical conditions, and psy-chological responses to the diagnosis of cancer (Nail, 2006). Cognitive changes can occur during all phases of the cancer experience, from small deficits in information processing to acute deliri-um. Often the cognitive impairments survivors experience are not evident to someone else but are apparent to the person experiencing them, especially in relation to work performance with high cognitive demands (Anderson-Hanley and others, 2003). The client's personal evaluation of his memory is the best indicator of cognitive impairment.
While writing down questions to ask the oncologist may be motivated by poor memory, it is not uncommon for clients to prepare a list of questions before a meeting with their health care pro-vider.

[serike]

Both answers were spot on, thank you once again

[maya.nigrin17@yahoo.com]

Great! Please up vote