Bowel Cancer Case Study

Treatment : (Baxter , et al 2009) identified three main types of treatment for bowel cancer and they are surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy techniques. Depending on the stage and location of the cancer, patients will usually receive one or a combination of these treatments. Bowel cancer patients may also receive targeted therapies if the bowel cancer has spread to other parts of the body. People must be well informed that colorectal cancer is one of the major causes of cancer-related death in the UK. Goldwasser, (2009) suggested that patient survival is highly dependent on the tumour stage at the time of diagnosis and reduced sensitivity to chemotherapy can be a major obstacle in effective treatment of advanced stage cancer. Paszat,

Given this view, there is an increased interest in the difficult problems, risks, needs, and concerns of survivors who have completed treatment and are cancer-free. (NCCN, 2009) in its research it was found that physical and mental quality of life for colorectal cancer survivors was poor when compared to those of the same age but do not have bowel cancer. In support of NCCN findings, NICE (2012) went further and stated that though issues and symptoms were very high within the first three years, long-term effects of treatment can persist and include fatigue, sleep difficulty, fear of recurrence, anxiety, depression, negative body image, sensory neuropathy, gastrointestinal problems, urinary incontinence, and sexual dysfunction. The difficult challenges of colorectal cancer survivors can and should be addressed by health care providers and the research community to ensure effective interventions and models of care to manage these long-term effects of colorectal cancer treatment and long term care of bowel cancer survivors, and improve existing models of survivorship care. Therefore care should shift from surveillance for recurrence initially to management of co-morbidities and receipt of appropriate preventive long-term care objectives. According to (Jamal A, Seagel R, et al, 2008) it was concluded that, a majority of long-term survivors reports at least one symptom attributed to previous cancer diagnosis or treatment and more than 70% of survivors have co-morbid conditions, co-ordination of care is paramount for optimal care of cancer survivors to prevent functional decline and ensure receipt of necessary care for both cancer and non-cancer