Current Topic:
Assessing mouth care in cancer care
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Abstract
Changes to the oral cavity arising from malignant disease, treatment and other co-morbidity factors can have a profound affect on the person with cancer, causing pain, discomfort, lack of nutrition, longer hospital stays, and in some situations, sepsis and death. It is the responsibility of the multi-professional team working together to address mouth care throughout the treatment trajectory, from early diagnosis, commencement of cytotxic treatment, to the terminal phases of the disease when a person may no longer be able to care for themselves. While it is recognised that caring for the mouth is an important aspect of cancer care, all too often this aspect of care may be overlooked until problems arise. This leads to needless distress and discomfort and serious clinical consequences.
While mouth care may be neglected due to a number of reasons including other clinical priorities, part of the frustration for clinical practitioners is the lack of certainty surrounding the best approaches to implement. The reality is that there is clear and consistent evidence on how to assess and care for the mouth which the team can implement while critically applying the best available evidence in the use of the multiple treatment agents available.
This module will enable the reader to address the key aspects of mouth care; assessment, care and treatment. In order to do this the module will look at the pathophysiology of oral damage caused by disease and treatments including mucositis. It will lead the reader to critically explore the key aspects of assessment, including the appropriate choice of assessment tool for the clinical area and the necessary training required for the team and the patient to ensure an accurate and consistent assessment of the mouth. It will explore the best way to care for the mouth in the home, hospital and hospice setting. It will guide the reader to critically examine the multiple treatments available to prevent and treat oral damage and to apply these treatments to the particular clinical situation.
