Question

A 52-year-old female patient is receiving care on the oncology unit for breast cancer that has metastasized to her lungs and liver. When addressing the patient's pain in her plan of nursing care, the nurse should consider what characteristic of cancer pain?

a) Cancer pain is often related to the stress of the patient knowing she has cancer and requires relatively low doses of pain medications along with a high dose of anti-anxiety medications.
b) Cancer pain is always chronic and challenging to treat, so distraction is often the best intervention.
c) Cancer pain can be acute or chronic, and it typically requires comparatively high doses of pain medications.
d) Cancer pain is often misreported by patients because of confusion related to their disease process.

Answer 1

Nurses should consider that cancer pain can be acute or chronic and often requires high doses of pain medications for management.

Step-by-step explanation:

When addressing the patient's pain in her plan of nursing care, the nurse should consider that cancer pain can be acute or chronic, and it typically requires comparatively high doses of pain medications. This pain may be a result of both neuropathic and inflammatory processes, which can signal ongoing damage in the body or result from the body's immune response to cancer cells. To manage such pain effectively, nurses must understand that pain perception is subjective, and individualized treatment plans are necessary, which may include a combination of medication use and other therapies tailored to the patient's specific type and stage of cancer.

Answer 2

B because to me that’s what makes the most sense