CHAPTER 8/ Oncology Conditions^149
with the best quality of life possible. Family-centered care is provided to max-
imize support for the child and family members.
Family and friends may view a diagnosis of cancer as meaning the child’s
life will end in a short period of time, and they might withdraw from the child.
Family may also become overbearing and restrict the child’s continued
growth. Teaching and support by the nurse is needed to correct misconceptions
and keep the parents updated on the child’s progress.
Knowledge of the impact of cancer conditions and the associated treat-
ments helps the nurse anticipate problems and plan the assistance needed to
reduce discomforts and maximize the strengths of the child and family during
the process of the illness and treatments. Because cancer conditions involve
multiple systems, the nurse must consider that multiple imbalances can and
often do occur simultaneously in one client.
Symptoms and history can be invaluable when determining what imbal-
ances may be present in the client. The nurse must explore historical data,
along with monitoring of lab results and physical assessment data, to become
and remain aware of client needs and advocate for the client in order to min-
imize complications that could worsen the client’s condition.
Understanding the normal ranges of laboratory test values is critical to
determining what are important and essential data to report and act on. Close
monitoring of laboratory values by the nurse in concert with the medication
or treatment is critical. The nurse should review this sampling of cancer con-
ditions and consider how other cancer conditions may impact similar organs
of the body or similar functions in the body and place the client at risk for
complications and imbalances.Cancer Defined
Cancer refers to the presence ofmalignantcells, cells that grow and prolif-
erate in a disorderly, uncontrolled, and chaotic fashion. The term neoplasm
usually refers to a new abnormalgrowth in the body. The growth can be
benign(limited growth) or malignant (cancerous). Cancer in children is not
common but is still the second leading cause of death in children <14 years
of age. The most frequent type of cancer in children is immature blood cell
overgrowth, or leukemia(acute lymphocytic or acute nonlymphocytic). Other
childhood cancers include:
Lymphomas(cancers of the lymph system): Non-Hodgkin or Hodgkin
Central nervous system (CNS) tumors: Gliomas, medulloblastomas,
ependymoma
Solid tumors: Neuroblastoma, Wilms tumor, retinoblastoma,
rhabdomyosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma, osteosarcoma, hepatoblastoma,
germ cell tumor