Pathophys (Prostate cancer) HELP!!

[KyleL311]

Hello every! I'm new to writing pathophys. I have to write a section on the pathophys of prostate cancer and how it strictly relates to my patient (patient from clinical). I find myself writing a lot about the general info of prostate cancer such as causes, treatments, etc. I would love for anyone to critique and correct my pathophys on prostate cancer. It's not finished yet. Here is the instructor's guideline...

- Define the patient's pathophysiology as it is discussed in professional literature (acedemic sources). This should be done on the patient's PRIMARY MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS and relate to his s/s, lab work, etc.

Prostate cancer has been linked to dietary factors, such as eatinghigh amounts of animal fats, hormonal factors, age, and environmental factors, suchas infectious diseases (Radhakrishnan, Lee, Oliver, & Chinegwundoh, 2007). Thepatient reported eating high amounts of red meat which contained high levels offat which according to Balistreri, Candore, Lio, & Carruba (2012), fats increaselevels of testosterone (hormonal factor) which increases the rate of prostatic cellgrowth leading to increased risk for DNA mutation. Along with being over 65 yearsold, the replication process of prostatic cells becomes poorer and can lead to abnormalgrowth (Balistreri et al., 2012). The patient had a history of MRSA in 2003 and2007 which may have increased his risk for prostate cancer.

According to Balistreri et al (2012), these factors have been linkedto the development of chronic inflammation of the prostate.

"Chronic inflammation resultsin the formation of typical risk factor lesions in epithelial prostate cells,called 'proliferative inflammatory atrophy' (PIA). These lesions occurpredominantly at the periphery of the prostate gland, where prostate cancer typicallyarises. Many of the PIA areas may show morphologic transitions in prostaticintraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) lesions" (Balistreri et al., 2012).

Prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia then transitioninto prostate cancer (Balistreri et al., 2012).

[Episteme]

OK. What is your assessment data on your patient? How does he "fit" or not the textbook description of prostate cancer?

[KyleL311]

It's asking for the assessment data (hematuria, difficulty urinating) and how it relates to the pathophys.

[Episteme]

I don't understand your problem then.

Does the paragraph you transcribed constitute everything you know about prostate cancer? Or did you cherry pick facts you thought matched your patient?

Go back to your resource/scholarly paper. Reread it with a pen and paper handy. Make a table. Forget your patient. Focus only on the print in front of you. Make bullet points for every factoid you find about prostate cancer.

*recommended screening

*needle biopsy

*typical age at discovery

*PSA levels

*family history, race/ethnic factors

*obesity

*histology (i.e., what sort of cells turn into prostate cancer)

*typical patterns of spread and metastasis

*how tumors are graded

*how it's treated (chemo, surgery, radiation, hormone treatment)

etc. etc. etc.

IOW: Read your reference thoroughly. When you've made lots of bullet points go to your patient...

*his age

*ethnicity

*family history (not just of prostate cancer but of cancer in his family)

*PSA numbers

*how was it discovered

*how far advanced/ how are they looking for mets/ what tests has he had

*what grade did they give his tumor

*what treatment is he on and/or will he be on

*etc. etc. etc.

The way I read your paragraph, it looks like your grabbing at straws trying to figure out why the guy got the cancer. No one knows why he got prostate cancer (or how anyone gets any cancer for that matter)... its all guess work, epidemiology and on-going research. You saw something about inflammation... found the guy had a hx of MRSA and made a huge leap. Bazillions of people have had or get MRSA... and VRE... and C.diff and tons of other infections. They don't get prostate cancer. You didn't even mention where the MRSA was. And besides, it's chronic inflammatiion (years) that is thought to precipitate cancerous changes.

Find a couple of good references about prostate cancer. Read and take notes. Similarly... list all the assessments and information you have about your patient. Then and only then should you try to make connections.

I think you need to begin again with an open, inquiring mind. Do not try to formulate your paper as you read your references. Don't try to shoe-horn your patient into a few facts from the reference. Making the connections between what you know about the disease and what you assessed about your patient is the last section of your paper, not the first.

And you know what? If you find facts that are NOT part of your patient's history, you say that. "Mr. S's family has a strong history of heart disease and his relatives have typically died young. Therefore we do not know if Mr. S is genetically prone to cancer with advancing age." etc etc.

But look... you need to be sure you know what your instructor is looking for. You can even make an outline of what your paper will look like, hand it to her, and ask... if I follow this outline and provide the information it indicates, will I be meeting the objectives of this assignment?

[Esme12, ASN, BSN, RN]

I don't understand your problem then.

Does the paragraph you transcribed constitute everything you know about prostate cancer? Or did you cherry pick facts you thought matched your patient?

Go back to your resource/scholarly paper. Reread it with a pen and paper handy. Make a table. Forget your patient. Focus only on the print in front of you. Make bullet points for every factoid you find about prostate cancer.

*recommended screening

*needle biopsy

*typical age at discovery

*PSA levels

*family history, race/ethnic factors

*obesity

*histology (i.e., what sort of cells turn into prostate cancer)

*typical patterns of spread and metastasis

*how tumors are graded

*how it's treated (chemo, surgery, radiation, hormone treatment)

etc. etc. etc.

IOW: Read your reference thoroughly. When you've made lots of bullet points go to your patient...

*his age

*ethnicity

*family history (not just of prostate cancer but of cancer in his family)

*PSA numbers

*how was it discovered

*how far advanced/ how are they looking for mets/ what tests has he had

*what grade did they give his tumor

*what treatment is he on and/or will he be on

*etc. etc. etc.

The way I read your paragraph, it looks like your grabbing at straws trying to figure out why the guy got the cancer. No one knows why he got prostate cancer (or how anyone gets any cancer for that matter)... its all guess work, epidemiology and on-going research. You saw something about inflammation... found the guy had a hx of MRSA and made a huge leap. Bazillions of people have had or get MRSA... and VRE... and C.diff and tons of other infections. They don't get prostate cancer. You didn't even mention where the MRSA was. And besides, it's chronic inflammatiion (years) that is thought to precipitate cancerous changes.

Find a couple of good references about prostate cancer. Read and take notes. Similarly... list all the assessments and information you have about your patient. Then and only then should you try to make connections.

I think you need to begin again with an open, inquiring mind. Do not try to formulate your paper as you read your references. Don't try to shoe-horn your patient into a few facts from the reference. Making the connections between what you know about the disease and what you assessed about your patient is the last section of your paper, not the first.

And you know what? If you find facts that are NOT part of your patient's history, you say that. "Mr. S's family has a strong history of heart disease and his relatives have typically died young. Therefore we do not know if Mr. S is genetically prone to cancer with advancing age." etc etc.

But look... you need to be sure you know what your instructor is looking for. You can even make an outline of what your paper will look like, hand it to her, and ask... if I follow this outline and provide the information it indicates, will I be meeting the objectives of this assignment?

OP welcome to AN!

You have gotten great advice.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

I think the problem is that the OP thinks s/he's being asked to describe the pathology of prostate cancer, not the pathophysiology of what goes on with a patient who has it.

OP, don't forget to look at information re urinary obstruction and incontinence, sexuality after surgery, and "watchful waiting." You're welcome.