Oncology

Oncology refers to the treatment and study of Cancer and thus Oncology nursing is typically associated to the care given to the cancer patients. A cancer patient mostly suffers from a terminal sickness that needs a lot of care and attention. Depending on the severity of the disease, the oncology nurses supervise and provide care, as the patient passes through the different stages of this disease. The severity of the disease demands specific skills and knowledge in order to provide relief and comfort from the sufferings and pain of Cancer and thus Oncology nurses play a very crucial role in the treatment of Cancer patients.

According to the American Cancer Society, cancer is second to heart disease as the leading cause of death in the United States. Radiation therapy is given to over 65% of all cancer diagnoses. As seen in the data presented at many of our meetings, we have made great strides over the last decade with increased survival rates. Major advances in technology have also allowed us to minimize the side effects seen with treatment.

Oncology massage is a specific type of bodywork that is targeted toward boosting the healing process of those who are undergoing treatments for cancer. Cancer patients frequently experience side effects from chemotherapy and other treatments, such as surgery and radiation, that cause increased pain, fatigue, low blood count, nausea, insomnia and decreased immune system function.

An oncologist may be a cancer researcher or someone who helps in the treatments of cancer. An oncologist may also be a doctor that explains to patients and families what cancer is and how best to treat it. An oncologist must understand that their education is constantly changing as new techniques and treatments are discovered.

The apoptosis called also programmed cell death has been recently discussed in almost 80 000 publications. As it is known, cell apoptosis may be induced by various stress factors (e.g. hypoxia, expression of oncogenes, mutations, DNA damages). On the other hand, apoptosis may be induced via internal or external signals, for instance proteins. Some of such endogenous and exogenous proapoptotic proteins have been found and described. Their genes may be used in modern anticancer therapies.