Journal des pratiques avancées en soins infirmiers

Cancer Patientâ??s Perception of Nursing Presence during Chemotherapy Protocol

Abstract

William Chaman

Undergoing chemotherapy for cancer patientto get rid of disease is the essential part of the treatment of many cancer conditions. The most common and effective treatment modality to manage cancer is chemotherapy. According to Zhou et al. (2011), this modality has some severe effects on body,mind, spirit, social life and family life as well. Some physical effects aree.g. myelosuppression, gastrointestinal toxicity, cardiotoxicity, hepatotoxicity, neurotoxicity, ototoxicity etc.Sometimes the chemotherapy treatment to manage these side effects is discontinued. Apart from the physical problems,patients also face sleep disruption and other symptoms of depression and anxiety. Patients may also have trouble concentrating or paying attention and mood change (National Comprehensive Cancer Network, 2019). Any person, who is diagnosed with cancer, has many types of reaction, concerns and worries. If not all, maximum patients get shocked and reluctant withdisbelief; they feel feared of the consequences of treatment, prognosis of disease and get anxious. They become angry, guilty and blame their God. As a result, most of the time people feel sad, face loneliness, and some of them lose control on their emotions and get emotional that decreases their quality of life. For these kinds of situations, there should be a person to attend them all the time during their tenure of chemotherapy treatment, to prepare patients at home and empower them in managing their worries with courage (Cancer Council of Australia, 2019).