Oncology Nursing Secrets [Paperback]

Gates & Fink (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 535 pages
• Publisher: Hanley & Belfus (1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560532106
• ISBN-13: 978-1560532101
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,357,904 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why Read Oncology Nursing Secrets: The Lay Reader, July 1, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Oncology Nursing Secrets (Paperback)

Many of us learn about cancer because a loved one (family member, friend) is first diagnosed with the disease. There is an enormous amount to learn that can be extremely helpful to the person who is most in need of our care. But it is not clear where to turn for information that is both comprehensively and clearly presented, that is backed by sound scientific studies (with references to original journal articles), and that reflects current, state-of-the-art practices. Such information can be found in this book, "Oncology Nursing Secrets". My wife was recently diagnosed with bone cancer and so I am just at the beginning of a long journey. But this book has helped in a way none of the others have. Symptom management becomes the caregiver's primary responsibility. And this book excels at the discussion of symptom management.

For example, nausea is one of the primary side effects of chemotherapy and one of the things that patients and caregivers know most about (and perhaps fear most). Every book that I have read on cancer covers nausea. However, only this book breaks down the types of nausea into three categories - anticipatory, acute and delayed - and accompanies this with a chart indicating the drugs that are most helpful for each kind of nausea. This is extremely useful information. No one regime or antiemetic will work for everyone. But it is very important to know what drugs to try in each phase of nausea. Moreover, it is important to know how to deliver the drugs and for how long. Should a large amount be given every 24 hours? Or should it be divided into smaller amounts several times during the day? How many days after chemotherapy should a drug be given? What should one expect in terms of side effects from each drug? Without this book, the world of drugs to fight nausea and vomiting is a wilderness. With this book the wilderness is no longer quite so frightening or untamed. In fact, the many paths through the forest are now well marked and one only has to follow the various paths one at a time, finding hopefully the right one.

The other chapters on the side effects of chemotherapy (and the management of symptoms) are all equally useful. They include discussions of constipation, diarrhea, fatigue, mucositis, nutritional support, pain management, and sexuality, among others. All these chapters are equally informative. They contain references for further study. It really is quite remarkable all that the authors have managed to put into one text.

Early in the care giving process one is also concerned with the particulars of the cancer, what treatments are used, and just how treatable the particular cancer is. The book has chapters which explain clearly the outcome of various treatment regimens for a particular cancer, the likelihood that an individual will benefit from the treatment, and the more detailed information about the drugs used for the treatment. This can be very scary at first and perhaps should be left aside at the outset. It is just too easy when one is upset to confuse one sarcoma with another, or one staging system for soft tissue cancers with another for osteogenic cancers. It is perhaps best to rely upon the physician here. Still, there is a wealth of information and it is useful when one has the strength to turn to it. People do make it through the rigorous treatments and often the five year survival rates are encouraging.

More generally, for anyone who has had a basic course in the basic sciences in college, this is the book to turn to when one needs the most complete answer one can get in a desktop reference. I find more and more that is of use. The book is current, the writing is clear, the organization is excellent. As a caregiver, it provides me with the information I need to help a cancer patient, my wife, through some very hard times.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What Nursing school didn't teach, August 24, 2000

By 

"deant17" (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Oncology Nursing Secrets (Paperback)

Oncology nursing secrets is an excellent guide for community- visiting nurses. Very detailed and accurate information on various types of cancer including nursing assessment, planning, and appropriate interventions. Provides indepth patient S&S and interventions that were not taught in nursing school!! Enables the RN to take a preventative approach to care of his/her clients. This book became my best friend as my cancer case load increased.