Oncology Nursing: Epidemiology, Screening, Palliative Care, Navigation, Carcinogenesis, and Immunology

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering cancer epidemiology, screening, survivorship, palliative and end-of-life care, nurse navigation, shared decision-making, carcinogenesis, and immunology.

Cancer Epidemiology

The study of the distribution and determinants of cancer in a population.

Prostate Cancer Mortality Disparity

An epidemiological disparity in the United States where African American men are more than twice as likely as white men to die from prostate cancer.

Overweight and Obesity Cancer Association

A significant health concern associated with approximately $15\%$ of cancers in males and $25\%$ of cancers in females.

Raloxifene

An FDA-approved chemoprevention drug treatment indicated to reduce the risk of breast cancer in the general population.

5A Model

A clinical model used to promote smoking cessation comprising five sequential steps: Ask, Advise, Assess, Assist, and Arrange.

Sensitivity

The ability of a screening test (such as a fecal occult blood test) to correctly identify the presence of a disease such as colon cancer.

Cervical Cancer Screening (Age 27)

Routine screening guideline recommending a Pap test every $3$ years for average-risk women in this age cohort.

Average-Risk Breast Cancer Screening (Age 45 and Older)

Screening guideline recommending annual mammography for women $45$ years of age and older with average risk.

Screening Mammogram

A routine radiographic breast examination scheduled for asymptomatic individuals without a personal history of breast cancer or breast implants.

Colonoscopy

A colorectal cancer screening examination that allows precancerous lesions to be directly visualized and removed during the procedure.

Cancer Survivor

Anyone with a cancer diagnosis, as well as their family members and significant others.

Mantle Field Irradiation Follow-Up

Surveillance protocol for Hodgkin lymphoma survivors treated with thoracic mantle field radiation, requiring an annual mammogram, breast MRI, or both.

Palliative Care

An interdisciplinary care model that focuses on improving the quality of life for the patient.

Tertiary Palliative Care

A specialized level of palliative care designated for managing the most complex patient cases.

Median Hospice Length of Stay (2019 NHPCO Data)

The median duration a patient lives while receiving hospice care, recorded as $18$ days according to $2019$ data from the National Hospice and Palliative Care Association.

Modern Hospice Movement

A patient care movement tracing its origins to the 1960s in England, led by pioneers such as Dame Cicely Saunders and Dr. Florence Wald, RN.

SWAT (Social Work Assessment Tool)

A tool developed and adopted by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization in $2007$ to assess the sociocultural needs of the patient.

Side-Lying Positioning

One of the least invasive interventions used by oncology nurses to manage terminal secretions ("death rattle") in dying patients.

Cheyne-Stokes Breathing

An irregular breathing pattern characterized by alternating deep breaths and apnea, recognized as a clinical sign of imminent death.

MANH (Medical Administration of Nutrition and Hydration)

Artificial fluid and nutritional support administered in terminal care that is unlikely to prolong life.

Acute Inpatient Consultative Teams

A multidisciplinary hospital service model representing an example of specialty palliative care.

Cancer in Hospice Care

The most common primary diagnosis seen among patients admitted into hospice care.

Medical Aid in Dying (MAID)

An end-of-life practice also known as physician-assisted suicide.

Edmonton Symptom Assessment System-Revised (ESAS-r)

A palliative clinical assessment scale that measures symptoms including shortness of breath, well-being, and drowsiness.

Delirium Nonpharmacologic Management

Sensory-supportive interventions for palliative patients experiencing delirium, such as ensuring the patient has eyeglasses and hearing aids.

Palliative Sedation

The pharmacological management of refractory end-of-life distress that utilizes nonopioid medications such as Ativan.

Palliative Performance Scale (PPS)

A clinical assessment instrument in oncology and palliative care that measures self-care, oral intake, and level of consciousness.

Lay Navigator

A trained nonprofessional or volunteer who provides individualized assistance to patients, families, and caregivers to overcome health care system barriers and facilitate timely access to quality health and psychosocial care.

Academy of Oncology Nurse and Patient Navigators (AONN+)

The professional navigation organization incorporated in $2009$ that offers navigator-specific certification.

Coordination Category (ONN Competencies)

An Oncology Nurse Navigator competency domain that involves facilitating timely scheduling of appointments, diagnostic testing, and procedures to expedite the plan of care and promote continuity of care.

SHARE Approach (Step 1)

The initial step of the AHRQ shared decision-making model where the clinician seeks patient participation (e.g., "There are two treatments we should discuss, then I would like to explore your thoughts for treatment").

Provider Recommendations

A primary and significant factor influencing cancer treatment choices in older adult oncology patients.

Tumor Suppressor Genes

Growth-regulating genes that normally function to control cell growth, whose pathologic loss-of-function variants lead to uncontrolled cell proliferation.

Epigenetic Changes

Acquired genetic reprogramming involving the addition or subtraction of methyl groups within the DNA molecule without altering the underlying DNA sequence.

Proliferation of Additional Driver Variants

The second phase in the step-wise clonal evolution model of tumor formation following the initiating pathogenic variant.

Resisting Programmed Cell Death

A biological hallmark acquired by malignant cells that allows them to evade apoptosis and continue replication.

Angiogenesis

The process of forming new blood vessels to supply distant tumor deposits with sufficient oxygen and nutrients so they can continue to grow and enlarge.

Circulating Tumor-Platelet Emboli

A metastatic survival mechanism whereby circulating cancer cells combine with platelets in the bloodstream to avoid immune detection.

Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)

The type of primary malignancy that most frequently metastasizes to the brain.

Escape Phase

The tumor suppression phase in which malignant clones evade immune recognition and destruction, resulting in tumor recurrence or new lesions.

Immune Surveillance

The physiological process by which the innate and adaptive immune systems identify and destroy clinically unmeasurable tumors.

Adaptive Immunity

A specific arm of the immune defense system that creates memory cells for a longer-lived, antigen-specific immune response.

Humoral Immunity

An adaptive immune response mediated by B lymphocytes that involves the production of plasma cells and secretion of antigen-specific antibodies.

Cytokines

Signaling proteins that function to assist with cell signaling and intercellular communication during immune responses.

Bone Marrow

An immune system tissue component that functions as both a primary and secondary lymphoid tissue.

T Cells

Lymphocytes originating from the lymphoid stem cell lineage that migrate to the thymus gland for maturation and are integral to immune surveillance and response.