Cachexia (Discussion answering to a classmate)

The response need be critical thinking and adding new information to the classmate post.This is the prompt that my classmate wrote:How can cachexia be prevented in cancer patients receiving aggressive protocols involving radiation and chemotherapy?This is my classmate post:To begin a discussion on how cachexia can be prevented in cancer patients that are being treated with radiation and chemotherapy, we must understand what cachexia is and how it affects the body. Cachexia is most often described as the wasting away of muscle tissue and body fat stores and it is difficult for patients to recover from cachexia once it begins. Cachexia affects the body by many different mechanisms that cause an imbalance in metabolic regulation through inflammatory activation, proteolysis, autophagy, and lipolysis (Ni and Zang, 2020, p. 1). Cachexia in cancer patients can play a very important role in the treatment process and survivability of patients with cancer. Ni and Zang (2020) explain that cancer cachexia not only negatively affects a cancer patients’ quality of life but also reduces the effectiveness of anti-cancer treatments and increases its toxicity to the patient (p. 1). The success rate in treating cancer cachexia is very low, so prevention is key.As nurses, we must understand how to manage the care our patients are receiving. This will maximize results and increase the probability of patient survival when undergoing cancer treatments with cachexia. When a patient is losing body mass, we as nurses; can provide interventions to help in minimizing weight loss and further decline in overall health. Gulanick and Myers, (2018) states we can do this by consulting a dietitian to determine the patients’ nutritional needs and ensure companionship during mealtime to assess for adequate intake of foods and evaluate proper positions while eating. We can encourage use of seasonings for changes in sense of taste and discourage intake of caffeinated