Caring for blood cancer patient undergoing chemotherapy

The basic haemato-oncological diseases include leukaemia, malignant lymphomas, myeloproliferative diseases and myelodysplastic syndrome. The treatment of these diseases is most often carried out with the help of chemotherapy, which, in addition to its therapeutic effect, also has a number of side effects that may reduce the patient's quality of life. During treatment, the role of the nurse is important, ensuring the safe application of chemotherapy, caring for venous access, monitoring the side effects of treatment and participating in patient education. The aim of the bachelor thesis was to find out the specifics of nursing care of a haemato-oncological patient during chemotherapy. The practical part was processed using a qualitative research survey. The first research group consisted of six nurses working in an oncology centre or inpatient department. The second research group consisted of six haemato-oncological patients undergoing chemotherapy. The semi-structured interview became the technique of data collection. The results of the research show that the nurses treat long-term venous accesses insufficiently. Problems were also found in the treatment of extravasations and in the application of the cytostatic drug itself. The results also showed that nurses do not use the right protective equipment when handling cytostatics. Another negative finding was that patients did not have enough information about the prevention of the side effects of chemotherapy and did not have sufficient psychological support from the nurses. Nevertheless, they evaluate the provided care positively. Based on the results, an information brochure designed for haemato-oncological patients undergoing chemotherapeutic treatment was designed as part of the thesis