Critical reflection about what is known and what is learned about the pain management needs for a patient who has stomach cancer.

1. PALLIATIVE CARE
Holistic Care of the Patient with Stomach Cancer: Pain Management
Tracey L. Murray
Capella University
ED 8365Teaching Strategies in Nursing Education
Dr. Bronner
March 5, 2017

2. Course Materials and Required Reading
CancerTreatment Centers ofAmerica. (2017). Pain management for stomach
cancer. Retrieved online at http://www.cancercenter.com/stomach-
cancer/pain-management/
Cline, D. (2015). Complexity of Care: A Concept Analysis of Older Adult
Health Care Experiences. Nursing Education Perspectives, 36(2), 108-113.
Huether, S. & McCance, K. (2012). Understanding Pathophysiology, 5th
edition. Elsevier. Chapter regarding cancer.
National Cancer Institute (NCI). (2017). Palliative Care. Retrieved from
https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/advanced-cancer/care-
choices/palliative-care-fact-sheet#q1

3. Learning Objective
• The learner will scrutinize reference material about specific
palliative care issues related to care of a patient who has
stomach cancer.The learner will review the literature to support
a holistic care plan associated with pharmacological and non-
pharmacological management.The learner shall construct a plan
which compares his/her prior knowledge to current standards of
practice (Bristol & Zerwekh, 2011) .This will be evaluated by the
achievement of a minimum of a 80% score on the assessment.

4. Palliative Care
• Patient centered care
• Focused on improving quality of life of patients and their
families (World Health Organization, 2002)
• Associated with the care of chronic disease and life-
threatening illness
• Prevention and relief of suffering by means of early
identification
• Impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other
problems, physical, psychosocial and spiritual (National
Cancer Institute (NCI), 2017;World Health Organization
(WHO), 2002).

5. Palliative Care
•Provides relief from pain
•Focuses on relief of symptoms
•Focuses on life and death concerns
•Integrates all aspects of the patient
•Psychological
•Spiritual
•Family
•Culture
•Provides a support system
•Advises about active living
•Discuss coping strategies

6. Pain
• Pain is described as acute or chronic; distraction greatly
improves the pain experience
• Acute pain is usually severe and short term
• Acute pain is associated with injury
• Chronic pain can be mild to severe
• Chronic pain extends beyond six months
• Chronic pain associated with stomach cancer relates to:
• Liver
• Lungs
• Bones

7. Pain
• Pain associated with the tumor
• Tumor pushes against the nerves, bones or organs
• Pain can be ameliorated or worsened by treatments
• Chemotherapy: could lead to peripheral neuropathy
• Radiation therapy
• Surgery
• Pain may be throbbing, constant, stabbing, stinging,
achy, cramping, pinching or …
• Pain can lead to other symptoms
• Nausea, dizziness, weakness or drowsiness
• Anger, depression, anxiety or irritability

8. Pain Management
• Prescription medications
• Implanted pain pumps
• Nerve block therapies
• Physical therapy
• Acupuncture and auriculotherapy
• Massage therapy
• Relaxation techniques and guided
imagery
• Chiropractic treatment

9. Reflection
•Having completed the review of the
literature, what did you find to be the
most helpful part of the unit?

10. Reflection
• What have you found this week, in relation
to pain management, that you already
knew about and that you did not know
about (Bristol & Zerwekh, 2011)?
• Plan to indicate three (3) holistic care
practices that you learned studying about
the pain management of a patient who has
stomach cancer.
• How will you implement this into holistic
care?

11. References
Bristol,T. J., & Zerwekh, J. (2011). Essentials of e-learning for nurse educators. Philadelphia, PA: F. A.
Davis Company. ISBN: 9780803621732.
CancerTreatment Centers of America. (2017). Pain management for stomach cancer. Retrieved online
at http://www.cancercenter.com/stomach-cancer/pain-management/
Cline, D. (2015). Complexity of Care: A Concept Analysis of Older Adult Health Care Experiences.
Nursing Education Perspectives, 36(2), 108-113.
Huether, S. & McCance, K. (2012). Understanding Pathophysiology, 5th edition. Elsevier.
National Cancer Institute (NCI). (2017). Palliative Care. Retrieved from https://www.cancer.gov/about-
cancer/advanced-cancer/care-choices/palliative-care-fact-sheet#q1
National League of Nursing. (2013). Faculty resources: ACES:Advancing Care Excellence for Seniors.
Retrieved from www.nln.org/facultyprograms/facultyresources/aces/index.htm
Snyder, L. & Neubauer, R. (2007). Pay-for-performance principles that promote patient-centered care:
An ethics manifesto. Annals of Internal Medicine, 147(11), 792-794.
Suchy,Y. (2009). Executive functioning: Overview, assessment and research issues for
nonneuropsychologists. Annual of Behavioral Medicine, 37, 106-116.
Tagliareni, M.E., Cline, D.D., Mengel,A., McLaughlin, B. & King, E. (2012). Quality care for older adults:
The NLN Advancing Care Excellence for Seniors (ACES) Project. Nursing Education Perspectives, 33(3),
144-149.