Author Question: A patient asks a nurse about ways to minimize side effects of chemotherapy. Which response is ... (Read 59 times)

savannahhooper · **on:** Jul 23, 2018

A patient asks a nurse about ways to minimize side effects of chemotherapy. Which response is correct?

a. Avoid contact with people who are ill.
b. Take antiemetics immediately after re-ceiving chemotherapy.
c. Treat fevers immediately with ibupro-fen.
d. Use a firm-bristled toothbrush to stimu-late gums.

Question 2

A nursing student asks a nurse why chemotherapeutic agents are given intermittently instead of continuously. The nurse will tell the student that intermittent dosing:

a. allows normal cells to recover and repo-pulate.
b. catches malignant cells in latent phases.
c. increases cancer cell kill and speeds up treatment.
d. suppresses drug resistance in tumor cells.

raili21 · **Reply #1 on:** Jul 23, 2018

Answer to Question 1

A
Patients receiving chemotherapy should be taught to avoid contact with people who are ill in or-der to minimize their chances of contracting an illness, which could be devastating if they are neutropenic. Antiemetics are useful when given before chemotherapy. Fevers need to be investi-gated; taking antipyretics can mask fever, which is often the only indication of an infection. A firm-bristled toothbrush can further irritate gums; good oral hygiene is necessary, but with a soft-bristled brush.

Answer to Question 2

A
Intermittent chemotherapy allows normal cells to repopulate between rounds of therapy. Cells in latent phases do not generally respond to chemotherapy. Intermittent therapy does not speed up treatment or increase tumor cell kill. Intermittent therapy does not suppress drug resistance in tumor cells.