Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia - Case Study Example

Download file to see previous pages The PICU nurses showed professional competence in carrying out their role of providing holistic care to the patient and family. Eventually, Therese passed away due to severe thrombocytopenia secondary to leukemia in relapse. Patient’s end-of-life journey will be discussed on this paper with an overview of the patient’s illness from the time of diagnosis to the acute and chronic phases but mainly focuses on the terminal phase at the PICU and on how the nurses responded.
It was a gloomy afternoon of April 2009 when Arlene, 32 years old and a single mother of a 6-year-old girl named Therese, first noticed two bruises on her daughter body, one on the arm and another on her thigh. Therese had an intermittent fever for four days and looked pale and lacks agility according to Arlene. She used to be a very active and playful child but on this date, Arlene noticed a big change in the child’s behavior. Therese loss appetite for food, she no longer joined playing around with her playmates, she was complaining of joint pain, and she became weak and always felt sleepy. Arlene decided to seek medical advice and on confinement to the hospital, her daughter was medically diagnosed to have Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia.
Leukemia, the most common cancer in childhood, is a group of cancer diseases of blood-forming tissues such as the bone marrow and lymphatic system. The problem in leukemia is the production of an excessive number of immature white blood cells (WBCs). Crowding from these excessive immature cells compromises the production of other cells in the bone marrow. The leukemias are categorized by subtype into two major classifications: acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), which is the most common type in children, and acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), most frequent in adults and the most common form of leukemia overall. The primary difference is the type of leukocyte or WBCs involved.  ...Download file to see next pagesRead More