A client who was diagnosed with colorectal cancer received radiation therapy during the course of his treatment. The nurse explains the uses of radiation therapy for this client by saying it may be used as
Explanation
• External Beam Radiation Therapy (ERBT) is the most common radiation therapy, used as a primary modality to achieve local cure of
• Radiation therapy as an adjuvant treatment is used preoperatively or postoperatively to aid in the destruction of cancer cells in conjunction with chemotherapy.
• Radiation therapy can be used as a palliative treatment to relieve pain caused by a growing tumor if it is causing obstruction, pathologic fractures, or spinal cord compression.
• Incorrect: Though not common, cranial irradiation therapy is used in some cases as a prophylactic intervention for small cell lung cancer. (This answer choice is incorrect because the question asked about uses of radiation for this client.) More commonly, clients who are at unusually high risk for cancer elect to undergo preventive or prophylactic surgical intervention (prophylactic mastectomies are an example).
• Incorrect: The diagnosis of cancer is established by microscopic identification of malignant cells from tumor tissue, not by radiation therapy.
• Incorrect: Clinical staging is based on evidence acquired before treatment and obtained from physical examination, imaging, endoscopy, biopsy, laboratory tests, surgical exploration, and other diagnostic tests, but not radiation therapy.