Nursing role in the treatment of myeloma
Patient education is a key component of any nurse’s role, but it is especially important when caring for myeloma patients and their families. This is not only because of the relative rarity of myeloma but also because of the heterogeneity and complexity of the cancer.
Nurses play a crucial role in providing information and support for patients and their families throughout the course of the disease and in doing so will strengthen the relationship they have with their patients.
Information and support is essential to help patients and their families:
- Come to terms with a diagnosis of myeloma
- Make informed decisions about their treatment and care
- Help regain control of their lives
- Reduce anxiety and negative emotional states, and give peace of mind
- Understand, recognise and cope better with the side effects of treatment
- Help improve quality of life
When patients begin treatment, nurses must communicate clearly about potential side effects. Information on how to recognise the signs of side effects should be explained at the beginning of treatment and re-visited at each treatment cycle. Specific guidance should be provided about how to contact healthcare professionals if a patient has concerns during the day and out of hours. This is extremely important as some side effects can be life-threatening but can be prevented by early intervention. This information should be given both verbally and in a written format. It is also helpful to share this information with patients’ families, friends and carers if they are supporting the individual at home.
Nurses should also provide guidance to patients about the need to report their symptoms early, and to understand the importance of this in relation to their quality of life. Tools such as patient diaries can be especially helpful for patients to record how they feel, when side effects are most problematic etc. These can be reviewed by nurses to monitor the effects of treatment.
Some patients can be apprehensive about reporting their symptoms for fear that their treatment may be delayed or stopped. Nurses must therefore ask questions appropriately and explain clearly to patients why the treatment may need to be delayed or stopped. Balancing the risks and benefits associated with treatment-related toxicities is always difficult. However, where treatment continues, reassurance that side effects can be managed whilst maintaining an effective treatment schedule can be helpful in encouraging patients to speak openly about any side effects they have. Nurses should also be aware that increasingly patients may consider taking supplements or herbal medicines alongside their prescribed treatment and should advise that these must only be taken after discussion with their clinical team as they may cause harm or impact the efficacy of their prescribed treatments.
To order any Myeloma UK patient information, from our Infopack for newly diagnosed patients to a range of treatment and tests guides, visit our HCP Hub. You can also read more about managing some of the side effects of the treatments discussed in this module in our Myeloma Nurse Guide series.