Lesson 1.3 Critical Thinking - Essay Example

Critical Thinking Critical Thinking The types of cancers that occur in adults are in most cases different from those that occur in children. Childhood cancers are frequently as a result of changes in the DNA within the cells that occur very early in the children’s lives. Unlike in childhood cancers, cancers that occur in adults are strongly linked to environmental or lifestyle risk factors such as alcohol and tobacco use, sedentary lifestyles and poor diet. Cancers in children are less common as compared to cancers in adults.

By the time of diagnosis, childhood cancers are usually far more advanced than adulthood cancers (Porth, 2009). Childhood cancers occur at different sites of the body as compared to adulthood cancers. Most of the childhood cancers are brain tumors, leukemia and lymphoma and bone cancer. On the other hand, cancer in adults tends to occur mainly in the breast, colon, lungs, and pancreas and prostrate. There are also cancers that affect adults but virtually never occur in children, while at the same type some childhood cancers never occur in adults (Jones, 2008).

With respect to treatment, cancers occurring in children’s bodies tend to respond better to treatments such as chemotherapy as compared to the way adults’ bodies do. Though this is the case, these treatments, like the radiation therapy and the chemotherapy may have long-term side effects. This requires for there to be a careful follow up for the rest of their lives on children who undergo this treatments (McCance, 2009). In the case study given, the 14 year-old female suffered from various side effects as a result of the dicloxacillin therapy she was undergoing.

Some of the effects are common adverse drug reactions which include: headache, fever, purpura, swollen and bleeding gums and generalized petechiae. From the lab-work results, the young girl’s platelets’ count is low. The path physiology of cells and tissues or the cellular environment attribute greatly to cancer (White, 2011).ReferencesPorth, C., & Hannon, R. A. (2009). Porth pathophysiology: Concepts of altered health states. Philadelphia, Pa: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.Porth, C., & Porth, C. (2011). Essentials of pathophysiology: Concepts of altered health states.

Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.Jones & Bartlett Publishers. (2008). 2009 Nurses Drug Handbook. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.McCance, K. L., & Huether, S. E. (2010). Pathophysiology: The biologic basis for disease in adults and children. Maryland Heights, Mo: Mosby Elsevier.White, L., Duncan, G., & Baumle, W. (2011). Foundations of Adult Health Nursing. Clifton Park, N.Y: Delmar/ Cengage Learning.