Part 1
Introduction
Different health conditions have continued to devastate the health and well-being of people. The terms range from chronic health failures like Diabetes, renal failures, pulmonary diseases, to mental health problems like depression, eating disorders, and schizophrenia. Such diseases and health conditions are expensive to monitor, leaving people under severe economic crisis whenever one tries to contain. Diseases know no borders and would infect any person from any race, ethnicity, social class, or even sex and gender. Cancer is an illness that is caused by specific and particular changes to genes, which are the physical units in matters of inheritance. The disease is a genetic one caused by changes in the way a cell function, especially their growth and division. Cancer is considered as one of the global causes of mortality because of its fatality when it attacks specific organs in the human system and how far it has extended before being treated.
Discussion of POI
It is important to note that cancer is never a person’s fault. Most people suffering from the condition might be as a result of genetically inherited from their family members who have been suffering from the infections. About one out of five people in the USA suffer from health conditions. Over 1.5 million cancer cases are registered each year (American Cancer Society, 2019). Although every person can get cancer, the vulnerability increases with age. As nurses, it is essential to learn about the disease and the increasing prevalence in the world. The main reason for the increased prevalence is aging populations and the fact that active management is prolonging survival. As such, nurses need the imperative knowledge, confidence, skills, and competence to support individuals who are living with cancer.
Cancer patients require acute care to best address the issue on hand. Such nurses often express dissatisfaction when working units where there are substandard staffing. The nurses can also complain of stress and even burnout prompting them to seek new work prospects away from the oncology specificity (Coban & Yurdagul, 2014). The staff can often suffer from burnout from consistent and demanding care required by cancer patients at any given time. The negative attitude has continued to affect the cancer patient’s perception of nurses and other healthcare workers. However, in an appropriately staffed working environment, nurses and other staffs provide the much necessary care, ensuring that the quality of health and care for the patients at any given time.
In 2015, mortality as a result of cancer reduced in the country with increased numbers of survivors. The country also witnessed an increased mitigation strategy to cub the condition. The cancer care system in the USA developed sophisticated and improved therapies that ensured there is expanded screening capabilities and improved mortality to any form of cancer (Kirkwood, 2016). Cancer is a global health issue, with 12.1 million new cases being reported in 2012, and a further 8.2 million people dying from the condition in the same year (Global Cancer Research, 2016). Similarly, the World Health Organization has projected by 2035, and the world would have 24 million new cases, with 14.5 million people dying each year from the health condition (Global Cancer Research, 2016).
I intend to undertake an interview that would give me an insight into how the health condition has continued to affect the health sector and healthcare across the country. The conversation will be imperative as part of my coursework as well as giving me the understanding of how cancer has continued to devastate the health sector, the mitigation from the local and federal government departments of health on dealing with the menace among other underlying issues on cancer and care. It would be essential to interview an oncologist who has worked for several years and therefore has a comprehensive understanding of the disease and other issues that are associated with the health condition.
It would be essential to understand the reasoning of other staff members on their belief and perception of cancer patients who are receiving care at their facility. The move would be to know what they feel are some of the alleviation processes that should be exercised at the facility to ensure that they provide care and also feel obligated to help improve the health of the patients. As such, I would interview oncology nurses and doctors over the issue, particularly nurse leaders and managers of the health facility I visit. It would be a brief and comprehensive interview aimed at understanding their beliefs, perceptions, and wish over the quality of working place and working with cancer patients. It would be essential to conduct online research before the interview, which would give me an understanding of the current literature, which would play a vital role in the study.
Briefly, as a student in RN, I have had different experiences in the past that have continued to impact my urge to continue helping people and alleviate them from underlying health conditions. As a student, I have been educated on oral and analytic thinking, which would be necessary in this interview. I have also received numerous teaching and practical skills specific to nursing, enabling us to become a competent nurse.
Part 2
Step 1: the interviewee is an RN working in a cancer center in Ohio. The interview was through a phone call.
Step 2-5:
Q1: What is entailed in cancer stage 4, and what does that mean?
RN: The stage is also referred to as metastatic cancer because it has spread to other parts of the body distant from the origin. The stage is devastating and can be detected years after the initial diagnosis of the disease even after treating and removing primary cancer. The stage is responsible for the high number of people dying as a result of the disease.
Q2: What are the treatment options for stage 4 cancer?
RN: The treatment options might include chemotherapy hormone therapy, chemotherapy, or targeted therapy, or a combination of these mitigation therapies. Processes such as radiation and surgery can also be vital during the treatment of the disease. Cancer has already spread to other parts of the body, meaning it is hard to be cured, but the mitigations can be imperative in controlling cancer.
Q3: how much experience do you have with cancer treatment?
RN: I have been working at the cancer center for six years now after graduating with a bachelor’s degree RN in 2013. I have worked with some of the best oncologists in the state, and the country as a whole, been able to develop a positive attitude towards providing care for patients with cancer, ensuring the quality of life, and improved health.
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Q4: Is it essential to take part in clinical trials?
RN: as professionals, we have ensured that we ensured that we do not use placebos when patients take part in clinical trials. The trials are mainly to ensure that patients who have recovered do not witness the late effects of cancer once they have recovered.
Q5: At what moment is it advisable to refer a patient to cancer care for treatment?
RN: We encourage a person to visit cancer care for treatment when we have noticed that they have cancer and try to treat it at an early stage. However, we encourage the use of radiation therapy or chemotherapy, which is an active treatment. We only use long term treatment like hormone medication as the last resort treatment because the process may take several years trying to maintain remission.
Q6: How does chemotherapy affect the daily lives of patients?
RN: Chemotherapy has been discovered to cause fatigue, hair loss, nausea, bowel complications like constipation, mouth sores, nail, and skin problems. Because of its intensity, a person might have difficulty in concentrating, hearing changes, and muscle and nerve effects. The care is more noticeable due to loss of hair among the patients and the fact that it is expensive, meaning it consumes a lot of cash to contain cancer using the process.
Q7: What is the central goal for treatment to a patient with stage 4 cancer?
RN: as said earlier, the chances of surviving stage 4 cancer is very minimal, and a person suffering from the condition means it has been discovered years after the first stage was discovered or treated. The central goal of the treatment at this stage is to maintain the quality of life for the patient and also prolong the survival of the person.
Q8: What is the estimated treatment cost?
RN: it is hard to come up with an answer for such a question because it all depends on the stage of cancer that we are trying to treat. However, the cost is expensive, with an average of around $11,000 per month. The drugs and the therapies that are conducted make it costly to treat the condition on average.
Q9: What should a person do when having trouble to attend regular diagnosis?
RN: the best thing is to contact his or her caregiver and be able to come up with a schedule that would ensure they do not put their lives at stake by not having regular visits health facility.
Q10: do you believe the government is working hard to improve the healthcare system for cancer patients?
RN: I believe the government has done an incredible job in ensuring that people receive care and corresponding treatment on cancer. Through research on new drugs and other therapeutic measures, I believe the government is doing all it can to ensure that citizens receive the necessary care.
Summary and Conclusion
Cancer patients have continued to witness great care in the country through mitigation strategies that have ensured the alleviation of cancer and treatment to restore their quality of life. Through several funding from the government, healthcare officials have continued to ensure that they provide care through treatment processes like radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and the use of drugs. The interview was conducted through a phone call, and the RN was straightforward and wishing to give information regarding every question that I asked.
References
American Cancer Society. (2019, July 19). Questions People Ask About Cancer. Retrieved April 04, 2020, from American Cancer Society: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-basics/questions-people-ask-about-cancer.html
Coban, G. I., & Yurdagul, G. (2014). The relationship between cancer patients’ perception of nursing care and nursing attitudes towards nursing profession. Asia-Pacific Journal of Oncology Nursing, 1(1), 16-21. Retrieved from 10.4103/2347-5625.135816
Global Cancer Research. (2016, July 22). Why Global Cancer Research Is Critical to Progress against the Disease. Retrieved April 04, 2020, from Nation Cancer Institute: https://www.cancer.gov/research/areas/global-health
Kirkwood, K. (2016). The State of Cancer Care in America, 2016: A Report by the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Journal of Oncology Practice, 12(4), 339-383. doi:10.1200/JOP.2015.010462
