Chronic and Life-Threatening Diseases

Question 1

What are acute diseases

Answer 1

Episodic conditions

Question 2

What are chronic conditions?

Answer 2

Constant and can bring about psychological stress

Question 3

How does perception affect one’s condition?

Answer 3

It can affect how well they cope with the condition

Question 4

What is the basic idea of cancer?

Answer 4

An uncontrollable growth of abnormal cells

Normal cell division and growth is controlled at the level of the DNA,
Sometimes the genes that control growth are damaged

This allows the cell to grow uncontrollably

Question 5

What is a tumour in cancer?

Answer 5

Enough uncontrolled cells form a mass

Question 6

What is metastasized?

Answer 6

When tumour cells spread through other parts of the body

Question 7

What are the two most common psychological problems, especially at initial diagnosis?

Answer 7

Fear and depression

Can become chronic

Depression tends to the proportional to the prognosis of the disease

Question 8

What can depression result in from cancer?

Answer 8

Poor quality of life

Longer hospital stays

Lower medical adherence

Higher mortality rate

Question 9

What are intrusive memories in terms of cancer?

Answer 9

Unwanted thoughts related to illness or death of friends, family or even someone in a movie

Question 10

What is emotion-focused coping?

Answer 10

Focused on ways to reduce the emotional impact of the disease - if it works, it works. It may not solve the issue, but it sometimes does make you feel a bit better, which is good.

Question 11

What is problem-focused coping?

Answer 11

-Seeking information about the disease

• Closely following treatment recommendations

-Actively addressing the stressors associated with the cancer

Seems more effective at reducing depression and anxiety

Question 12

What are some common treatments for cancer?

Answer 12

-Surgery
-Radiation therapy
-Chemotherapy
-Hormone therapy

Question 13

How are hormones able to treat breast and prostate cancer?

Answer 13

These forms are influenced by certain hormones (testosterone, estrogens)

Question 14

What do surgerys do for cancer treatment?

Answer 14

Can remove tumors but cannot do anything to cells that have metastasized

Question 15

How does radiation therapy work?

Answer 15

Shrink tumors through non-invasive procedure

Designed to deal with specific sites of cancer (e.g brachytherapy)

If cancer has metastasized then chemotherapy is used

Harm to healthy cells may occur

Question 16

What are some side effects of cancer treatments?

Answer 16

-Fatigue
-Nausea
-Hair loss
-Oral and gastrointestinal erosion

Question 17

What are social supports able to do for cancer treatments?

Answer 17

-Encourage people to express emotions
- Build group cohesion increasing the sense of social support
- Improve patient communication skills
-Offer relaxation techniques

Question 18

What is diabetes?

Answer 18

Caused when the pancreas produces too little insulin

Insulin is needed for cells to get sugar from the blood

Question 19

What is type 1 diabetes?

Answer 19

The production of little or no insulin
- requires daily insulin intake

Question 20

What is type 2 diabetes?

Answer 20

The underproduction or ineffective utilization of insulin
-more common in people over the age of 45, especially if they are obese

Question 21

What are some symptoms associated with type 1 diabetes?

Answer 21

-Frequent urination
-Unusual thrist
-Extreme hunger
-Weight loss
-Fatigue

Question 22

What are some symptoms associated with type 2 diabetes?

Answer 22

Similar to type 1 but also frequent infections, cuts and bruises take a long time to heal

Question 23

What are some long-term consequences to diabetes?

Answer 23

-Amputation
-Cardiovascular disease
-Kidney failure
-Neurological problems
-Going blind
-Stoke

Question 24

What is myocardial infarction in cardiovascular disease?

Answer 24

Irreversible damage to heart muscle (heart attack) People survive their first but not the second

Question 25

What is coronary artery bypass graft in cardiovascular disease?

Answer 25

Healthy arteries from other parts of the body are grafted to the coronary artery to bypass blocked arteries

Question 26

What is an angioplasty in cardiovascular disease?

Answer 26

Involves the unblocking of blocked blood vessels. Ballons or tubes are inserted into constricted blood vessels to widen them

Question 27

How does anxiety contribute to cardiovascular disease?

Answer 27

Anxiety about having another heart attack can lead people to a sedentary lifestyle

Usually accompanied by weight gain and reduced physical activity

Makes people prone to another heart attack

Question 28

What does rehabilitation include for cardiovascular disease?

Answer 28

Monitoring of physical condition

Education

Diet and exercise

Relaxation and anger management skills may also be taught

Question 29

What are some symptoms of HIV and AIDS?

Answer 29

-Fever
-Swelling of lymph nodes
-Fatique
-Diarrhea
-Sleep sweating
-Yeast infections

HIV breaks down the body’s immune system
- making you susceptible to other diseases

Question 30

What are the transmission modes for HIV and AIDS

Answer 30

Unprotected sex, needles and mother to fetus

Question 31

What does the quality of life refer to? - exam question

Answer 31

The extent to which symptoms and treatments affect a person’s physical, social, cognitive and emotional functioning

Treatments that may alleviate a medical cause of a disease might have negative effects on other aspects of a patients life

Question 32

What are two major things that must be considered for quality of life? - exam question

Answer 32

1. Tradeoffs between length of life and quality of life
2. Patients must be integrally involved with decisions because only they know what is important to them

Question 33

Explain denial - 1 stage of the 5 stages of grief - exam question

Answer 33

A defence mechanism used when traumatic information is received. People think that the physician is not being serious

Question 34

Explain anger - 2 stage of grief - exam question

Answer 34

Sometimes directed at the medical system or family and friends for not being helpful enough

Question 35

Explain bargaining - 3rd stage of grief - exam question

Answer 35

Sometimes people try to buy more time by offering themselves for research or make strong religious or spiritual commitments

Question 36

Explain depression - 4 stage of grief - exam question

Answer 36

If people become depressed they tend to give up, this often accelerates death

Question 37

Explain acceptance - 5 stage of grief - exam question

Answer 37

At this point, people are likely to be at peace. Death is viewed as a relief