Conference Proceedings - School of Nursing & Midwifery - Trinity ...

School of Nursing & Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin: 8 th Annual Interdisciplinary Research Conference
Transforming Healthcare Through Research, Education & Technology: 7 th – 9 th November 2007
Conference Proceedings
may not be useful in others. Strategies that patients have reported
as helpful centred on a need for others to understand what was
happening to them and the opportunity to partake in gentle exercise
programmes which catered for individual needs with different levels
of fitness and different types of cancer.
Other symptoms such as alopecia were reported as being very
distressing for patients and although scalp cooling has been proven
beneficial in reducing hair loss with certain chemotherapy regimens,
this was not available in the unit where this study was conducted.
Many patients described how their hair loss made them feel less
feminine and others described how it made them feel like an alien.
Some worried about the effect their hair loss would have on their
families, especially younger children. Others found wearing wigs
very stressful as they thought it attracted more attention to them
and they were concerned about the possibility of wigs falling off in
public areas. Some patients suggested that the personnel providing
the wig service both within the NHS and the private sector were not
prepared to cope with their emotional needs and this made them
feel even more vulnerable.
Some health care professionals avoid subjects that they are not
comfortable with, despite patients’ wishes to have an opportunity to
explore them. Sexuality and relationship issues were mentioned by
patients as not being addressed appropriately by the health care
team.
Patient information booklets are usually given to all patients so that
they and all health care professionals have information about their
treatment. This includes instant access to a record of their
treatment plan, investigations carried out, results of investigations
and any side-effects they may have experienced from their
treatment. Some patients described how they were confused and
overwhelmed with the amount of information they received.
Interviewed patients suggested that their information needs
changed as they progressed through their treatment. Therefore, it is
important that appropriate information is given at various stages
throughout the treatment pathway. This study presents oncology
nurses and nursing as central to ensuring that patients are cared for
and facilitated throughout their disease trajectory.
Recommendations for practice
The management of chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting
remains suboptimal despite the use of 5-HT3 antagonists and other
antiemetics, and indigestion is a largely unrecognised side-effect of
chemotherapy. Increased use of drugs to combat indigestion,
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