Hodgkin's Lymphoma

Words: 961
Pages: 4

Being diagnosed with cancer can challenge an adolescent’s health and emotional wellbeing as it disrupts an important period of physical, psychological, cognitive and social transition. Adolescent oncology patients have to deal with issues above and beyond the illness itself, which create a diverse range of healthcare needs. Throughout this essay I will use the case of a 15 year old female adolescent, newly diagnosed with nodular sclerosis Hodgkin’s lymphoma, to highlight the nurse’s role in caring for this adolescent with special healthcare needs as a result of her cancer. In this adolescent’s case, she has two parents, two younger siblings, her family live in the one family home in Co. Roscommon and they appear to be coping well. Throughout …show more content…
Once cancer has been diagnosed, an initial assessment of all aspects of the child or adolescent’s specific healthcare needs, including physical, psychosocial, educational etc., should be carried out by the children’s nurse. The nurse reviews the treatment plan along with the oncologist, becomes aware of expected outcomes and possible complications, and independently assesses the patient’s physiological status. Physiological assessment of a 15 year old with a soft-tissue tumour such as Hodgkin’s lymphoma should focus on the adolescent’s general condition. The children’s nurse should obtain the adolescent’s height and weight on initial assessment to provide a baseline in which growth patterns during treatment can be measured and so that chemotherapeutic drug dosages can be calculated. Assessment of the area and size of the tumour should also be performed. With Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, the majority of patients present with a …show more content…
Adolescence is a time of physical, psychological, cognitive and social transition Specific developmental hurdles must be overcome to help an adolescent successfully adapt to adult life. These include establishing an identity and body image, gaining independence, preparing for self-sufficiency and developing academic and social competencies A cancer diagnosis significantly challenges an adolescent’s psychosocial wellbeing as it can disrupt this developmental