Oncology

A 49-year-old client is diagnosed with ovarian cancer. What is a characteristic of malignant cells that differentiates them from normal body cells?

Cancerous cells grow in an uncontrollable fashion.

A client is receiving idarubicin. What is the nurse's priority assessment?

Cardiac function

A male client is diagnosed with prostate cancer. The treatment modality of choice includes both surgery and chemotherapy. What does the chemotherapeutic option include?

Hormonal therapies

A female client is prescribed methotrexate for meningeal leukemia. What health education should the nurse prioritize?

Use reliable forms of barrier contraception.

A client has just been diagnosed with liver cancer, and the care team is finalizing the extensive chemotherapy regimen that will begin imminently. Administration of chemotherapeutic drugs is best achieved through which route?

a central venous catheter (CVC)

The dosages of the chemotherapy agents that will be administered are based primarily on what client variable?

weight

A patient who will begin chemotherapy voices concern to the nurse about the accompanying nausea and vomitting. What is the best response by the nurse?

"We can relieve your nausea and vomiting with antiemetic drug therapy. You should ask for these medications whenever you need them."

A patient having chemotherapy is losing her hair. She asks the nurse if her hair will come back as it originally was. What is the best response by the nurse?

"Your hair will grow back, but the new hair may be a different color or texture."

An adult client has recently begun cancer treatment with methotrexate (MTX). When reviewing this client's laboratory work, the nurse should consequently prioritize assessment of which of the following?

BUN and creatinine

An oncology nurse is reviewing the pathophysiology of cancer and is discussing with a colleague the factors that contribute to the success or failure of a patient's chemotherapy. Which cancerous cell is most susceptible to the effects of chemotherapeutic drugs?

Cells that have a rapid mitotic rate

A client on the oncology unit has begun chemotherapy with a regimen that includes bendamustine. The client has begun to experience alopecia. The nurse should prioritize assessments related to what potential nursing diagnosis?

Disturbed body image

A patient is to receive doxorubicin as treatment for leukemia. The nurse would instruct the patient that the typical cycle would be repeated at which frequency?

Every 3 weeks

A 26-year-old man with testicular cancer is prescribed combination chemotherapy that involves using two drugs that are effective against testicular tumors. Combination drug therapy is superior to single-drug therapy because of:

Higher tumor response rates

A client's chemotherapeutic regimen includes procarbazine. What is the client's most likely diagnosis?

Hodgkin lymphoma

A client's chemotherapy regimen has been deemed successful, but the client is experiencing debilitating nausea and vomiting. These adverse effects should signal the nurse to the possibility of what nursing diagnosis?

Imbalanced nutrition: less than body requirements

A 39-year-old client has begun taking tamoxifen to reduce the risk of contralateral breast cancer. The client is now reporting hot flashes and dysmenorrhea. What is the nurse's best action?

Inform the client that these are likely adverse effects of drug therapy.

A nurse is administering an antineoplastic extravasation occurs. How can the nurse best prevent tissue damage caused by extravasation?

Inspect the site frequently for redness or swelling

A female client is ending an extensive chemotherapeutic regimen that included cytotoxic antineoplastic drugs. What does the nurse understand about bone marrow toxicity in this client?

It is a common adverse effect of her treatment.

A male patient has been on long-term bicalutamide therapy. In order to assess adverse effects of the drug therapy, the nurse will closely monitor:

Liver function

During which phase of the cell cycle would a nurse expect a mitotic inhibitor to act?

M

Which would the nurse identify as an antineoplastic antibiotic?

Mitomycin

A nurse is preparing to administer imatinib to a client. The nurse expects to administer this drug by which route?

Oral

A client who is taking chemotherapeutic medications has developed stomatitis. What intervention should the nurse include in the client's plan of care?

Provide mouth care frequently.

A client is prescribed doxorubicin drug therapy for carcinoma of the breast. On the second day of drug therapy, she calls in to report reddish urine. What should the nurse do?

Reassure the patient that it is a harmless and expected response to the drug.

A patient has just received the first dose of imatinib and the nurse on the oncology unit is amending the patient's care plan accordingly. What nursing diagnosis is most appropriate in light of this addition to the patient's drug regimen?

Risk for Infection related to bone marrow suppression

The client has just been started on an alkylating agent to treat testicular cancer. What assessment finding would suggest that the client is experiencing a common adverse effect of this medication?

The client's most recent laboratory results indicate pancytopenia.

A client with Hodgkin disease has been prescribed vincristine. What nursing consideration should the nurse prioritize when administering this drug?

The nurse should avoid any skin, eye, or mucous membrane contact with the drug.

A client with a diagnosis of bladder cancer is started on a chemotherapeutic regimen that includes three agents. What is the rationale for using multiple antineoplastic agents?

The use of three agents decreases the development of cell resistance.

Prior to administering a dose of 5-FU to a patient with pancreatic cancer, the nurse is conducting the necessary drug research. The nurse is aware that 5-FU is a cell cycle-specific chemotherapeutic agent. Which statement best describes cell cycle-specific drugs?

They affect cancerous cells during a particular phase of cellular reproduction.

What potential benefit is unique to biologic agent therapies?

They may affect cancer cells while leaving normal body cells unaffected.

What rationale should the nurse provide to the client when describing the necessity of recovery periods between treatment cycles of chemotherapy?

Time is needed to replace many of the healthy body cells killed by chemotherapy.

Which agents would be considered cancer non-cell cycle specific agents?

alkylating agents

A 79-year-old woman has recently moved to a long-term care facility, and the nurse at the facility is conducting a medication reconciliation. The nurse notes that the woman has recently been taking tamoxifen. The nurse is justified in concluding that the woman has a history of what malignancy?

breast cancer

A client has been diagnosed with a brain tumor and is dealing with this diagnosis by seeking detailed information about cancer. The nurse would explain to the client that cancer is essentially a result of the disruption of the:

cell cycle

The oncology nurse understands that chemotherapeutic agents are most effective during a particular phase of the cell cycle. This means the agents are:

cell cycle-specific.

A nurse educator is discussing the role of protooncogenes in the pathophysiology of cancer. What typically triggers protooncogenes to differentiate into oncogenes?

exposure to carcinogens

A client is being treated on the oncology unit and has developed worsening adverse effects over the past several days of chemotherapy. Administration of filgrastim may aid in achieving what desired outcome?

increased leukocytes

A client is receiving tamoxifen. Which adverse effect would be most specific to the action of this drug?

menopausal effects

An elderly man has been admitted to a residential care facility and the nurse has conducted a medication reconciliation. The man has taken numerous drugs in the past, including a course of bicalutamide (Casodex) several years earlier. The nurse recognizes this drug as being an antiandrogen and is consequently justified in presuming that the man has a history of what disease?

prostate cancer

What health education topic should the community health nurse emphasize when planning care for a client who will be prescribed an oral chemotherapy drug for the next several months while recovering at home?

techniques for safely handling the drug

A female client will soon begin targeted therapy as a component of her treatment plan for chronic leukemia. The nurse is conducting health education about this new aspect of the client's drug regimen and the client has asked about the potential side effects of treatment. How should the nurse best respond?

"Both classes of drugs have adverse effects, but targeted therapies tend to have less of an effect on healthy body cells."

A client received an injection of doxorubicin and is now observing a reddish urine. The client reports blood in the urine to the nurse. How should the nurse respond?

"The reddish urine is an expected response to the drug."

Which agent would the nurse expect to be administered orally?

Methotrexate

A patient with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) will be starting a course of doxorubicin shortly. When planning this patient's care, what nursing diagnosis should the nurse prioritize?

Risk for Infection related to suppressed bone marrow function

A nurse is providing client education to a 50-year-old woman who is taking methotrexate (MTX) for breast cancer. The nurse will instruct the client to avoid which drug?

Salicylates

The nurse is caring for a client who is receiving a combination of antineoplastic agents. The client has been told that alopecia is likely to occur, and the client is tearful and distraught about this. What is the nurse's best response?

Validate the client's sense of impending loss and offer guidance for getting a wig.

An adult client who has been diagnosed with a rectal tumor is scheduled to begin treatment with cisplatin.The nurse has conducted client teaching about the possibility of nausea and vomiting. In order to reduce the client's risk of severe nausea, the nurse should:

administer a combination of antiemetics prior to the administration of the drug.

A patient with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is receiving imatinib on an inpatient basis. When planning the care of this patient, what assessment should be specified in the patient's plan of nursing care?

daily weights

In caring for clients undergoing chemotherapy, the nurse should monitor for what adverse effective triggered by the cytotoxic effect of the antineoplastic medication therapy? Select all that apply.

nausea diarrhea mucositis

A client has chosen to receive palliative care after lung cancer metastasized to the bones and liver. Which is the most appropriate during palliative cancer care?

the use of chemotherapy to reduce pain

A 25-year-old female client is prescribed methotrexate to treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The nurse should teach the client to:

use an effective contraceptive.

The nurse is caring for a client whose current chemotherapy regimen includes mitomycin. What is the client's most likely diagnosis?

adenocarcinoma of the pancreas

The nurse may be asked to administer which medications to a client to counteract the increase in uric acid and subsequent hyperuricemia resulting from the metabolic waste buildup from rapid tumor lysis?

allopurinol

A female patient is taking oral cyclophosphamide therapy for breast cancer. Because of possible adverse effects of the drug, the nurse will instruct the patient to:

drink a lot of water.

When describing the process of cancer cell growth to a client, the nurse addresses angiogenesis. Which description would the nurse include?

The process of creating new blood vessels to supply oxygen and nutrients to the cells

The nurse should encourage the client to implement which intervention in order to minimize the risk of developing chemotherapy-triggered mucositis?

thoroughly rinse the mouth often, especially before and after meals