Assessment of Cancer Patients

Flashcards covering the comprehensive assessment of cancer patients, including nutritional status, pain dimensions, hematologic changes, and psychosocial factors.

General health assessment

The first component of patient assessment, typically conducted via interview by an oncology nurse or radiation oncologist to collect data on health status, physical exam results, and baseline laboratory information.

Self-report survey

A method of health assessment where individuals disclose aspects of their lives that are important for the radiation oncology team to consider when designing a plan of care.

Anorexia

A condition defined as the inability or lack of desire to eat, which serves as a major cause of cancer cachexia.

Cachexia

A multidimensional "wasting syndrome" characterized by weight loss, muscle atrophy, fatigue, weakness, and a state of general ill health with early satiety.

Precachexia, cachexia, and refractory cachexia

The three classified stages of cancer cachexia; therapeutic response is generally limited to palliation once a patient reaches the refractory stage.

Kwashiorkor

A form of protein-energy malnutrition produced by severe protein deficiency and associated primarily with muscle loss.

Marasmus

A condition of calorie malnutrition characterized by the depletion of fat and muscle, specifically more associated with fat loss.

Acute pain

New, sudden pain often resulting from diagnostic or surgical procedures, tumor progression, or emergent situations such as cord compression or airway obstruction.

Chronic pain

Pain present for an extended period of $3$ months or more, often caused by tumor invasion or side effects from treatment like neuropathy or radiation enteritis.

Physiologic Dimension

The dimension of pain assessment used to determine the cause of pain, categorized into therapy-associated, direct tumor involvement, or unrelated to the tumor/treatment.

Sensory Dimension

The dimension of pain assessment used to identify the location, intensity, and quality (e.g., aching, throbbing, or stabbing) of the pain.

Affective Dimension

The dimension of pain assessment that recognizes how emotional responses, such as depression and anxiety, affect a patient's ability to tolerate and cope with pain.

Sociocultural Dimension

The dimension of pain assessment that considers factors such as ethnicity, culture, demographics, spirituality, age, gender, and race.

Behavioral Dimension

The dimension of pain assessment that evaluates medication intake and physical activity levels, often utilizing tools like the Karnofsky Performance Status.

Cognitive Dimension

The dimension of pain assessment that ascertains the meaning of pain to the patient and how it influences their thought processes.

Karnofsky Performance Status

A scale commonly used in the behavioral dimension of pain assessment, where scores range from $100$ (Normal) to $0$ (Death) based on a patient's functional ability.

Myelosuppression

A reduction in bone marrow function that results in fewer red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.

Anemia

A decrease in the number of peripheral red blood cells and hemoglobin level, often leading to pale skin, muscle weakness, and fatigue.

Hematocrit

The percentage of erythrocytes in the blood, which is a value used to diagnose anemia.

Leukopenia

A decrease in the white blood cell count, which increases a patient's risk of infection.

Thrombocytopenia

A reduction in the number of circulating platelets; a count of $20,000\,mm^3$ or less can result in spontaneous hemorrhage.

Quality of Life

A person's subjective sense of well-being derived from physical, psychological, and social factors in their experience of life.

Anxiety

An affective response to a perceived threat characterized by an increased level of arousal associated with vague, unpleasant, and uneasy feelings.

Depression

A condition in which a person feels discouraged, sad, hopeless, unmotivated, or disinterested in life in general.

Values

Criteria established in early childhood through socialization that dictate how a person should act or react in a given set of circumstances.

Beliefs

Knowledge, opinions, and faith about life and others that are built upon an individual’s values.

Customs

Behaviors, traditions, or social actions that individuals are conditioned to follow and pass down within a culture.

Spirituality

A sense of fulfillment and connection with a power greater than oneself that guides a person's conduct and central philosophy of life.

Religion

Distinctive principles and rituals practiced either alone or in established groups as an expression of spiritual dimension.