Oncology Nursing

Cancer fundamentals nursing guide — what cancer is, benign vs malignant tumors, metastasis pathways, TNM staging, risk factors, CAUTION warning signs, and nursing considerations for early detection and patient support.

Chemotherapy nursing guide — cell cycle principles, drug classes, hematologic toxicities, nadir timing, GI and organ-specific toxicities, safe handling of hazardous drugs, extravasation management, and patient education.

Radiation therapy nursing guide — external beam vs internal radiation, site-specific side effects, radiation dermatitis skin care, brachytherapy safety precautions, systemic radiation, and patient education.

Oncologic emergencies nursing guide — tumor lysis syndrome, malignant spinal cord compression, superior vena cava syndrome, hypercalcemia of malignancy, and febrile neutropenia: recognition, pathophysiology, and nursing priorities.

What palliative care is and isn't — symptom-first thinking alongside any treatment, the interdisciplinary team, goals-of-care conversations, and when to advocate for a referral.

The final weeks, days, and hours — recognizing the dying process, comfort care at the bedside (mouth care, positioning, oxygen for comfort), and supporting the family through the death.

Compassionate extubation and terminal weaning — the ethics of withdrawal vs withholding, double effect, preparing the family, premedication, and the nurse's role at the bedside.

Normal, anticipatory, complicated, and disenfranchised grief — the stages model used honestly, supporting bereaved families and children, and the nurse's own accumulated grief.

Breast cancer risk factors and BRCA, screening, warning signs of a malignant mass, hormone-receptor and HER2 status, lumpectomy vs mastectomy, and lymphedema prevention.

Small cell vs non-small cell lung cancer, the dominant smoking risk, paraneoplastic syndromes, superior vena cava syndrome, low-dose CT screening, and dyspnea management.

Colorectal cancer risk factors and the polyp-to-cancer sequence, colonoscopy and FIT screening, red-flag presentation, the CEA tumor marker, surgical resection, and ostomy care.

Prostate cancer screening with PSA and digital rectal exam, distinguishing it from BPH, active surveillance, prostatectomy, radiation, androgen deprivation therapy, and side effects.

Chemotherapy side effects nursing chart — side effect, cause, monitoring parameters, and nursing interventions for neutropenia, anemia, thrombocytopenia, CINV, mucositis, cardiotoxicity, peripheral neuropathy, nephrotoxicity, and fatigue.

Tumor lysis syndrome, spinal cord compression, superior vena cava syndrome, hypercalcemia of malignancy, and febrile neutropenia compared by trigger, key findings, and immediate nursing priority.

Neutropenia management nursing chart — ANC range, risk level, neutropenic precautions, and nursing actions from normal counts through profound neutropenia, plus febrile neutropenia emergency protocol and G-CSF quick reference.

Cancer treatment modalities comparison chart — surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, immunotherapy, targeted therapy, and hormonal therapy compared by purpose, advantages, limitations, nursing considerations, and treatment sequencing.

Goals, timing, eligibility, concurrent curative treatment, settings, team, and coverage — palliative care and hospice side by side, with the exam traps the distinction generates.

The dying timeline — weeks, days, and hours — with what each sign means (mottling, Cheyne-Stokes, the death rattle) and the nursing response and family explanation for each.

Normal, anticipatory, complicated, and disenfranchised grief compared by definition, recognition cues, and nursing response — plus the honest status of the stages model.

The comfort-kit drugs — morphine, lorazepam, haloperidol, scopolamine/glycopyrrolate, atropine drops — what each treats, routes when swallowing fails, and key nursing points.

Frequency, location, smoking link, growth and spread, paraneoplastic syndromes, primary treatment (chemo/radiation vs surgery-eligible), and prognosis, side by side.

Both cause urinary obstruction, but they differ in the zone of the gland, the digital rectal exam finding (smooth/rubbery vs hard/irregular nodule), PSA pattern, growth, and treatment, side by side.

Breast, lung, colorectal, and prostate cancer side by side: key risk factors, the screening test, the hallmark presentation, common site of metastasis, and the priority nursing focus.

The features that distinguish a likely benign lump (fibroadenoma, cyst) from a suspicious malignant one: consistency, mobility, borders, tenderness, skin/nipple changes, and laterality.