Nursing care of a patient after surgical treatment of lung cancer with a combined therapy

For more than 30 years lung cancer has been the most prevalent type of cancer in Poland. It is ranked first in men and second in women. The principal cause of lung cancer is smoking. Thanks to the available diagnostic and therapeutic methods, the disease can be promptly and adequately treated. The purpose of the paper is to assess the fulfilment of the programme of care of a female patient after lung cancer surgery and undergoing combined therapy. The following specific purposes were formulated for the above-stated general purpose of the paper: 1) Have all the care problems of the patient been identified at the Department Oncology and Radiotherapy, Medical University of Gdansk and the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Medical University of Gdansk? 2) Will the designed care plan make it possible to fully resolve the problems identified? 3) Has the plan been executed and evaluated? The study was conducted retrospectively at the Department of Thoracic Surgery, Medical University of Gdańsk and the Department of Oncology and Radiotherapy, Medical University of Gdańsk. A case study was used to conduct the study. The study demonstrated that although the care process was generally conducted at both departments, in this particular case the care process was conducted at one of the departments only. At the department where the care process was carried on, nearly all the care problems were identified and evaluated. Despite the fact that the care process was not conducted at the other department, it is possible to state, on the basis of the patient’s history, that the problems which arose in the course of treatment were identified and solved.