Benign vs. Malignant cells:
Benign-Harmless (no intervention) vs. Malignant-Indicates Cancer
Seven warning signs of cancer: CAUTION!
C: Change in
... [Show More] bowel or bladder habits
A: A sore that does not heal
U: Unusual bleeding or discharge
T: Thickening or lump in the breast or elsewhere
I: Indigestion or difficulty in swallowing
O: Obvious changes in warts or moles
N: Nagging cough or hoarseness
Cancer development stages of malignancy
-Initiation
-Promotion
-Progression
-Metastasis
Cancer classification:
-Grading: Observation under microscopy (graded 1-4)
-Ploidy: # of chromosomes (23 is normal)
-Staging: Formation of and if it has spread
-TNM: T-Tumor
N-Node
M-Metastasis
-Doubling time and mitotic index – How fast?
Cancer prevention (primary vs. secondary)
1)Primary: Identified by the tissue from which it around (parent tissue)
2)Secondary (metastasis): Cancer cells move from primary location.
Types of cancers (carcinoma, sarcoma, melanoma, lymphoma, leukemia, blastoma)
***30% of cancers are rt tobacco use
-Carcinoma: Skin or organ cancer
-Sarcoma (Rare): begins in the bones and soft (connective) tissues
-Melanoma: Skin cancer that begins in the melanocytes. Very dangerous as it can spread to
other organs more rapidly than carcinoma.
-Lymphoma: Cancer that begins in the lymphocytes (the infection-fighting cells of the immune
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system). Easily spread to other lymph nodes, spleen, thymus, bone marrow and various
body parts.
-Luekemia: Cancer forming in blood-forming tissues (bone marrow) and the lymphatic system.
Ch. 22: Care of Patients with Cancer
Diagnostic tests and lab values (biopsy, imaging, absolute neutrophil count, RBC/PLT/WBC
ranges)
Platelet Count: 150-400 thou/mcl
ANC: 2,500-6,000 (<1000 = Neutropenia)
WBC: 4,500-10,000 cells/mcl
RBC: Male (4.7-6.1 Mill/mcl), Female (4.2-5.4 Mill/mcl)
Risk factors:
Older age, Family Hx, Tobacco Use, Obesity, Alcohol, HPV, Chemicals, UV radiation
Types of therapy (i.e. surgery, radiation, chemotherapy)
Surgery: (Oldest form of tx) - Prophylaxis, Dx, Cure, Control, Palliation (treating pain only),
Accessing therapy effectiveness, Reconstruction
Radiation: (targeted treatment) – To destroy cancer cells with minimal damage to surrounding
normal cells—Radiation Dose: Amount of radiation absorbed.
Chemotherapy (Cytotoxic Systemic Therapy): Use of chemical agents to target cancer cells.
Adjuvant Therapy is the addition of surgery or radiation therapy added on.
Surgical classification types:
1. Prophylactic Surgery: Removing potentially cancerous tissue (preventive)
2. Diagnostic Surgery (Excisional Surgery): To remove a suspected lesion for examination to
test and r/o cancer.
3. Curative Surgery: Removes all cancer tissue. Most effective for small/localized tumors—
Basal cells.
4. Cancer Control/Cytoreduction Surgery: Removing part of the tumor when all is not
possible (debulking).
5. Palliative Surgery: Focuses on relieving symptoms and improving quality of life; it is not
curative.
6. Reconstructive/Rehab Surgery: Surgery to increase a function or appearance.
S/E of therapies:
S/E of Radiation: Acute and long-term site-specific changes, Varies according to site, Local skin
changes and hair loss, Altered taste sensations (xerostomia – dry mouth/absent saliva), Fatigue,
Bone marrow suppression.
S/E of Chemotherapy: Nausea/vomiting, Mucositis, Alopecia, Cognitive changes, Bone marrow
suppression, Chemotherapy Induced Peripheral Neuropathy (CIPN), neutropenia [Show Less]