The purpose of this assignment is to develop a health maintenance plan for Cancer in the USA.
Your paper should:
1. Assess, develop, and recommend health maintenance plans for clients in all developmental stages of life within the primary care practice.
2. Apply evidence-based guidelines to the identification and prevention of significant healthcare problems affecting populations at risk.
Submission Instructions:
The paper is to be clear and concise and students will lose points for improper grammar, punctuation, and misspelling.
The paper should be formatted per current APA and 5 pages in length, excluding the title, abstract, and references page.
Incorporate a minimum of 4 current (published within the last five years) scholarly journal articles or primary legal sources (statutes, court opinions) within your work.
Health Maintenance Plan for Cancer in the USA
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Course
Instructor’s Name
Date
Health Maintenance Plan for Cancer in the USA
Introduction
Cancer is a global health concern everywhere across the world. The Cancer statistics reflect the true impact of the disease on people. In the year 2020, about 1,806,590 were diagnosed with cancer in the United States and approximately 606,20 people died from the disease (Price & Sikora, 2020). The most common cancers in the U. S. include breast cancer, lung and bronchus cancer, prostate cancer, colon and rectum cancer, melanoma of the skin, bladder cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, kidney and renal pelvis cancer, endometrial cancer, and others respectively (Price & Sikora, 2020). The disease is more prevalent in men than women. In that regard, this paper presents a health maintenance plan for cancer in the United State.
What is Cancer?
Cancer is a name that refers to a large number of diseases characterized by the development of uncontrollably dividing abnormal cells that can infiltrate the normal body tissues. These abnormal cells are called cancer cells, tumor cells, or malignant cells (Pucci et al., 2019). Cancer types are named based on the tissue from which the abnormal or cancer cells originated. For example, types of cancer include breast cancer, lung cancer, colorectal cancer, and others (Waks & Winer, 2019). The most common types of cancer in men include prostate cancer, lung cancer, and colorectal cancer. In women, the best cancer types include breast cancer, lung cancer, and colorectal cancer. The most common cancer types in children include leukemia, brain tumors, and lymphoma. All these types of cancer are influenced by age, race, gender, and environment (Pucci et al., 2019). Cancer is marked as the second leading cause of death globally. The changes that cause cancer result from the interaction of one’s genetic factors and other categories of external agents including physical carcinogens, chemical carcinogens, and biological carcinogens.
Cancer Treatments and Health Maintenance
There are many types of cancer treatments that one can go through. The type of treatment that a patient receives is based on the type of cancer the individual has, as well as the stage of the disease (National Cancer Institute, 2022). Some individuals might have only one type of treatment while other people might have more than one. Below are some of the cancer treatment options.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is also referred to as chemo and involves the use of drugs to kill cancer cells. Chemo works by slowing down or stopping the growth of cancer cells. The two primary goals of chemotherapy include treating cancer and to ease cancer symptoms (National Cancer Institute, 2022). Besides curing cancer, chemotherapy can shrink tumors that are causing pain and other problems. Chemotherapy is used to treat several types of cancer such as breast cancer, colon cancer, and others (Waks & Winer, 2019). Some individuals may require just chemotherapy while others may require chemotherapy and other cancer treatments.
When used alongside other treatments, chemotherapy may reduce the size of the tumor before surgery, destroy cancer cells that remain after treatment, and health other treatments work better. Common side effects of chemotherapy include fatigue, hair loss, nausea and vomiting, constipation, and loss of appetite (National Cancer Institute, 2022). The cost of chemotherapy depends on the types and doses of chemotherapy. The medications are received through oral, intravenous, injection, intrathecal, intraperitoneal (IP), intra-arterial (IA), and topical. A dietician may be needed to recommend proper diets during treatment.
Hormone Therapy
Hormone therapy is a type of cancer treatment that aims at stopping the growth of cancer cells that make use of hormones to thrive. Hormone therapy is also referred to as hormonal therapy (National Cancer Institute, 2022). The therapy falls into two main categories such as those that stop the production of hormones and interfere with how hormones behave in the body. The two types of cancer that are treated with hormone therapy include breast cancer and prostate cancer (Waks & Winer, 2019). Common side effects include hot flashes, diarrhea, nausea, and fatigue. Hormone therapy that comes in form of pills is taken orally. Hormone therapy may also be administered through injections. Surgery may be conducted to remove organs that produce certain hormones, such as ovaries or testicles.
Hyperthermia
Hyperthermia is a cancer treatment whereby body tissues are heated under high temperatures (about 113 °F). The high temperature helps by damaging and killing cancer cells with little or no harm to normal tissue. Different strategies can be used to generate heat for hyperthermia treatment such as radio waves, probes that make energy from microwaves, lasers, ultrasound, and others (National Cancer Institute, 2022). Hyperthermia is not readily available in many centers to treat cancer. However, it can be used alongside other treatment methods to treat cancer of the ladder, appendix, breast, liver, and others.
Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy helps patients’ immune systems to fight cancer. The immune system is responsible for detecting and destroying abnormal cells as well as preventing the growth of many cancer cells (National Cancer Institute, 2022). There are different types of immunotherapy, such as immune checkpoint inhibitors, T-cell transfer, monoclonal antibodies, treatment vaccines, and immune system modulators. Immune checkpoint inhibitors are medications that allow the immune system cells to respond more strongly to cancer. T-cell transfer therapy boosts the natural ability of the T-cells to fight the disease. Monoclonal antibodies are immune system proteins created in the lab (National Cancer Institute, 2022). They mark cancer cells so that they will be better seen and destroyed by the immune system.
Radiation Therapy (Radiotherapy)
Radiotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that uses high doses of radiation to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. At low doses, radiation is used in x-rays to see inside the body. Radiotherapy kills cancer cells by destroying their DNA to stop them from dividing (National Cancer Institute, 2022). The two main types of radiotherapy include external beam and internal radiation therapies. When used to treat cancer, radiation therapy can cure cancer, prevent it from returning, or stop or slow its growth. Radiotherapy is used to treat many types of cancer. it may be administered with other treatments.
Stem Cell Transplants
Stem cell transplant is also called bone marrow transplant. These are medical procedures that are designed to restore blood-forming stem cells in people with certain types of cancer. Stem cells may be destroyed by the high doses of chemotherapy or radiation therapy that are used to treat certain cancers (National Cancer Institute, 2022). In stem cell transplant, the patient receives healthy blood-forming cells through a needle in the vein. Once they enter your bloodstream, the stem cells move to the bone marrow, where they take the place of the cells that were destroyed by treatment. It helps the body to regain the ability to produce stem cells after treatment (National Cancer Institute, 2022). Stem cell transplant may work directly against multiple myeloma and some types of leukemia through the process of graft-versus-tumor.
Targeted Therapy
Targeted therapy is a type of cancer treatment that is designed to target proteins that control the growth, division, and spread of cancer cells. Most targeted therapy is in the form of either monoclonal antibodies or small molecule drugs (National Cancer Institute, 2022). Before treatment, the physician may test the tumor to determine if it contains the targets for which the drugs are designed. Targeted therapy treats cancer in many ways, such as boosting the immune system, stopping the growth of cancer cells, blocking the formation of new blood vessels, causing cancer cell death, and others.
Surgery
During surgery, the surgeons remove cancer cells or tumors from the body. Many types of cancer can be treated with surgery, however, it works best for solid tumors that are contained in one place (Waks & Winer, 2019). It cannot work for leukemia or any other type of cancer that has spread. Surgery can work by removing the entire tumor, removing part of the tumor (debulk a tumor), and removing tumors that cause pain to ease the symptoms.
Coping and Support
A cancer diagnosis can change one’s life forever, hence, everyone should find a way of coping with the emotional and physical changes that it brings along. Learning enough about cancer is important to make proper decisions regarding care and lifestyle (National Cancer Institute, 2022). Patients should ask their doctors for more information about their illness including treatment options and prognosis. Another way to cope is by keeping close family and friends to help in dealing with the illness. Family and friends can provide practical support one may need. Non-pharmacological strategies that can be effective in reducing pain caused by cancer include patient psycho-education, supportive psychotherapy, and cognitive-behavioral interventions (National Cancer Institute, 2022). Proper diet and moderate physical exercise are also recommended for the management of cancer.
Conclusion
Cancer refers to the uncontrollably diving abnormal cells that are capable of infiltrating the normal body cells. The abnormal cells are called cancer cells or malignant tumor cells. In the year 2020, about 1,806,590 were diagnosed with cancer in the United States and approximately 606,20 people died from the disease. Therefore, cancer is a community health concern all over the world. there are several treatment options for cancer as discussed in this paper that can be used to improve the health of cancer patients.
References
National Cancer Institute. (2022). Types of Cancer Treatment. https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/types
Pucci, C., Martinelli, C., & Ciofani, G. (2019). Innovative approaches for cancer treatment: Current perspectives and new challenges. Ecancermedicalscience, 13. https://doi.org/10.3332/ecancer.2019.961
Price, P., & Sikora, K. (2020). Treatment of Cancer. Taylor & Francis Group.
Waks, A. G., & Winer, E. P. (2019). Breast cancer treatment: a review. Jama, 321(3), 288-300. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2018.19323