Here's how you can help your patients
About 70% to 80% of patients receiving chemotherapy experience chemotherapy-induced
nausea and vomiting (CINV) if it's not properly prevented. In fact,
patient surveys consistently rank
nausea and vomiting as 2 of the worst side effects from treatment. How
do you know if your patients are experiencing CINV? One study showed
that incidence and impact of chemotherapy side effects on patients can
be underestimated by healthcare providers, especially
in the days following treatment.1
Why don't patients receiving chemotherapy share information about how
they are feeling? Many people believe that nausea is a sign that their
treatment is working. They worry that if they tell their healthcare
team about feeling sick, they might have to receive a less effective
dose to fight their cancer. The irony is that cancer patients don't
have to be sick from chemotherapy. Not right after and not during the
days after. With diet and lifestyle changes and antinausea medications,
patients can avoid the nausea and vomiting that often
come with chemotherapy. Preventing CINV can help patients avoid the
ups and downs of chemotherapy to make it through their course of treatment.
As a nurse, you are a key link to education for your patients and their
families. The Stay Strong Patient
Support program provides materials that will support your efforts.
You can start by initiating a conversation with them before they start
treatment, discussing risk factors and possible
ways to avoid CINV. You may also want to encourage them to create a
list of questions to discuss during their appointment. To make it easier,
they can use a worksheet called Ask
your doctor, which can be downloaded for their use. Or suggest they
try out the "I felt" calendar
or the "I felt" checklist that
will help them talk to their treatment team about how they're feeling
the week after chemotherapy.
Your role is critical in your patients' chemotherapy experience. ALOXI®
is here to help you
A nurse is a teacher too
As early as 1973, the American Hospital Association (AHA) formally recognized the importance of providing information to patients and families so they could make informed decisions.
In its brochure, “The Patient Care Partnership,” the AHA outlines the need for discussing medically appropriate treatment choices and encourages patients to tell their caregivers if they need more information.
Many oncology healthcare providers not only supply education for patients
with cancer and their caregivers, but also access to support programs
that can help fill in the gaps. You can find educational tools about
managing chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting
(CINV) with the Stay Strong
Patient Support program, but this Web site also links you up with
other online resources for many other aspects
of cancer care.
The dual role of clinical care provider and educator is a critical one to cancer patients and their families. Good resources make it easier.
References
1. Grunberg SM, Deuson RR, Mavros P, et al. Incidence of chemotherapy-induced
nausea and emesis after modern antiemetics. Cancer. 2004;100:2261-2268.
2. American Hospital Association. The Patient Care Partnership. 2003.
http://www.aha.org/aha/issues/Communicating-With-Patients/pt-care-partnership.html. Accessed August 23, 2007.