INTRODUCTION TO

ONCOLOGY
NURSING

CANCER IN MALAYSIA
The

incidence of cancer is on the rise in Malaysia. It

can strike anyone regardless of colour, creed or
status.

The

Cancer Incidence in Peninsular Malaysia 20032005 report, published by the National Cancer
Registry (NCR) the total 67,792 new cases were
diagnosed among 29,596 males (43.7 per cent) and
38,196 females (56.3 per cent).

The

annual crude rate for males was 100.2 per cent

per 100,000 population, and 132.1 per cent per
100,000 for females.

CANCER IN MALAYSIA
The

most common
cancer in Malaysian
males is lung cancer
followed by
nasopharynx cancer

Breast

cancer is the
most common
cancer in females
followed by cervical
cancer

Colorectal

cancer is
increasing in
incidence in both
sexes

WHAT IS ONCOLOGY NURSING

Everyday we hear pts dying from cancer
MR Har died of Lung Cancer
MRS Mira has been diagnosed

with

Breast Cancer
MR Tom is in the terminal stage of Liver
Cancer
When

an individual is diagnosed with

CANCER
Am I going to die?????
Why me????? What sin did I do?????
How am I going to cope disease &
RX?????

WHAT IS ONCOLOGY NURSING

ON deals with patients suffering from CANCER a

destructive and deadly disease which has serious
side effects on physical, social and psychological
well being of patients

CANCER is a life threatening disease

CANCER contributes to No 1 cause of death

------ among various races in the world
------ man & woman, young & old, rich,
poor, famous, dark, fair, beautiful, ugly.
------ doesnt even spare children

WHAT IS ONCOLOGY NURSING

Being an Oncology nurse & To care for care patients:
You need to UNDERSTAND
What is Cancer, Causes, S & S, Pathophysiology,
Staging of cancer, Screening & Prevention
the VARIOUS RX available,
PHYSICAL & PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS of cancer RX
in depth the SUFFERINGS of cancer pts
learn how to meet the needs of an individual with
Coping STRATEGIES
Role of SUPPORT GROUP, PALLIATIVE RX, CAM

WHAT IS ONCOLOGY NURSING

Being an Oncology nurse & CARING for a
cancer patient:
You not only:
deal with the EMOTIONS of the
individual itself
BUT
Also of FAMILY MEMBERS & RELATIVES
Patients need to be cared PHYSICALLY,
MENTALLY & EMOTIONALLY

As Cancer RX is painful & suffers from

poor QOL

WHAT IS CANCER?

WHAT IS CANCER
Cancer

is a disease of the cells

(as it begins in the cell)

Cancer

is a disorder whereby normal body cells

undergo changes at the molecular level thus
causing the NCell to lose its normal cell
regulation, characteristics and functions.

Changes

(mutation) occurs at the LEVEL OF GENES

in the DNA of the cell

WHAT IS CANCER

WHAT IS CELL MUTATION

All

cells has DNA (a genetic material).

What

is a DNA? A substance that directs or takes

control of the cell activities. Genes in a cell are
responsible for controlling the growth of cells or cell
behaviour

When

the DNA becomes damaged, the cell either dies

or the cells repairs the DNA.
SOMETIMES
Due to severe damage, the DNA cannot be repaired,
mutations occur & this affects normal cell growth and
division. When cells do not die as they should, it
continues to grow to form new cells (abnormal cells).

WHAT IS CELL MUTATION

HOW CANCER DEVELOPS

When

mutation occurs NCells regulation & function

is altered severely, thus they transform into ACells
resulting them to acquire special capabilities,
--------- they over rule the normal cells.
This

ACells has a different appearance or looks

(undifferentiated) compared to NCells

ACells

continues to grow & divide without following

the rules & regulation and slowly form a mass of
tissue called TUMOUR/NEOPLASM.

WHAT IS NEOPLASIA
NEOPLASIA

means

Growth of new cells (ACells)

New cells (ACells) are not required for any

replacement of damaged cells

Possess special characteristics:

------- uncontrolled functioning
------- unregulated division
------- uncontrolled growth
------- abnormal motility

CONCEPTS OF NEOPLASIA
All ACell growth is referred as NEOPLASIA
SPECIAL FEATURES OF NEOPLASMS
DO

NOT OBEY the laws of normal tissue growth

HARMFUL

to the host as they compete for space

& essential nutrients

Grows

beyond the boundaries

CONCEPTS OF NEOPLASIA
Neoplasms

undergo all the phases of cell division

in the same way as NCells
Cell replication - mitosis
Cell differentiation

But

during the process of cell differentiation, they

lose most of the normal cell characteristics and
acquire new characteristics

CELL DIFFERENTIATION
Cell

differentiation means the ability of cells to

maintain their shape, functional abilities and
characteristics as they divide or proliferate.
is used when CCells
resembles NCells closely in shape and
characteristics.

Well-differentiated

Undifferentiated CCells has lost its shape and

does not resemble much of the normal cell.

###

The more undifferentiated it is, the most

vigorous or violent it is

CLASSIFICATION OF NEOPLASIA
Abnormal cell growth can be classified as

NONNEOPLASTIC & NEOPLASTIC

NonNeoplastic C have different growth patterns:
HYPERTROPHY, HYPERPLASIA, METAPLASIA &
DYSPLASIA
NEOPLASTIC cell growth can be divided into :
BENIGN or MALIGNANT NEOPLASIA

EXAMPLES OF NEOPLASIA
Examples of BENIGN NEOPLASMS:
PAPILLOMAS OR WARTS
Examples of MALIGNANT NEOPLASMS :

SOLID TUMOURS

LEUKAEMIA
##

to

##

MALIGNANT NEOPLASMS --- have the ability

destroy the host

MALIGNANT NEOPLASMS are known as

CANCER

NEOPLASM Tumor
Both

Benign or Malignant
neoplasm (Cancer cells) all
arises from normal
differentiated cells
BUT ONLY

Benign neoplasm retain the

characteristics of NCell

BENIGN GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS

Benign cells are morphologically and

functionally similar and looks the same as where

they come from. Therefore, it can be easily
identified as where they belong to.

Benign

cells continue to perform the parents cell

function

Benign

cells do not migrate. OR invade

surrounding tissue and are not capable of
metastases. BUT Benign tumors can cause
physiologic dysfunction and death
Eg. BTumor at trachea

MALIGNANT GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS

C. Cells undergo mitosis when there is no
need of it & have no purpose
C. Cells are not governed by any controlled
mechanism, so it proliferates controllably
However,

after several divisions they lose the

normal cell characteristics and acquire new
characteristics

C. Cells spread to other parts of the body

CANCER CELL CHARACTERISTICS

As Cancer cell progresses (or continuously undergo
mitosis) it slowly loses its identity or appearance
until they no longer resemble the parent tissue.
Has

a rapid growth rate & grows in a proliferative

manner

Capable

of compressing blood vessels, rob normal

tissues of nutrients, destroying normal tissue

Ability to survive & live in less favorable conditions

INTRODUCTION TO
ONCOLOGY NURSING

THANK YOU