Breast Cancer
Course #30613 - $90 -
- Participation Instructions
- Review the course material online or in print.
- Complete the course evaluation.
- Review your Transcript to view and print your Certificate of Completion. Your date of completion will be the date (Pacific Time) the course was electronically submitted for credit, with no exceptions. Partial credit is not available.
Healthcare professionals caring for patients with breast cancer throughout the disease trajectory should offer support and provide guidance. Providing quality care to transition women and men from the initial diagnosis of breast cancer through the diagnostic process, surgery, and subsequent treatments is the responsibility of the entire healthcare team. This course will outline the many issues faced in the screening, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of breast cancer.
- INTRODUCTION
- INCIDENCE AND EPIDEMIOLOGY OF BREAST CANCER
- RISK FACTORS
- AN OVERVIEW OF BREAST AND LYMPH ANATOMY
- SCREENING FOR BREAST CANCER
- PATHOLOGY OF BREAST LESIONS
- DIAGNOSTIC EVALUATION
- CLASSIFICATION OF BREAST CANCERS
- STAGING AND GRADING BREAST CANCERS
- HEALTH PROMOTION
- SURGICAL INTERVENTIONS
- LYMPHEDEMA
- RADIATION THERAPY
- ENDOCRINE THERAPY
- TARGETED THERAPIES
- CHEMOTHERAPY
- MALE BREAST CANCER
- CONCLUSION
- Works Cited
- Evidence-Based Practice Recommendations Citations
This course is designed for nurses and allied healthcare professionals invested in the care, delivery of treatment, and relevant education of patients with breast cancer.
The purpose of this course is to provide nurses and allied health professionals with the information necessary to accurately diagnose and effectively treat patients with breast cancer according to established guidelines, with the ultimate goal of improving patient care and quality of life.
Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:
- Outline the incidence and epidemiology of breast cancer.
- Discuss the risk factors for breast cancer, identifying which factors are nonmodifiable versus modifiable.
- Review hereditary breast cancers with BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations and inherited syndromes.
- Outline the models used to determine these risks.
- Review the anatomy and physiology of normal breast development and the lymphatic system.
- Identify screening recommendations for the early detection of breast cancer.
- Identify the pathology of benign and malignant breast tumors.
- Discuss the diagnostic work-up, incorporating the physical examination, imaging, biopsy, and pertinent family history.
- Analyze the various classifications of breast cancer according to pathology and extent of tissue involvement.
- Review the staging and grading systems for breast cancers.
- Analyze surgical options and interventions as primary treatment, including reconstruction and prostheses.
- Discuss lymphedema and measures to avoid this chronic morbidity.
- Describe the role of radiation therapy and potential side effects.
- Evaluate endocrine therapy for the treatment of estrogen- and progesterone-receptor positive breast cancer.
- Review available systemic chemotherapy for breast cancer.
- Summarize male breast cancer, outlining risk factors differing to those identified in women.
Jacqueline Houtman, RN, MA, CDP, graduated with an Associate's degree from the Eastbourne School of Nursing in England in 1971. In 2000, she graduated with a Master's degree in Applied Social Science from Binghamton University, Upstate New York. During the course of her nursing career, Ms. Houtman has held various positions in the acute care hospital setting, including medical, surgical, orthopedic, ophthalmic, and intensive care units, incorporating five years of case management.
Contributing faculty, Jacqueline Houtman, RN, MA, CDP, has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Jane C. Norman, RN, MSN, CNE, PhD
The division planner has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Sarah Campbell
The Director of Development and Academic Affairs has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
The purpose of NetCE is to provide challenging curricula to assist healthcare professionals to raise their levels of expertise while fulfilling their continuing education requirements, thereby improving the quality of healthcare.
Our contributing faculty members have taken care to ensure that the information and recommendations are accurate and compatible with the standards generally accepted at the time of publication. The publisher disclaims any liability, loss or damage incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents. Participants are cautioned about the potential risk of using limited knowledge when integrating new techniques into practice.
It is the policy of NetCE not to accept commercial support. Furthermore, commercial interests are prohibited from distributing or providing access to this activity to learners.
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The role of implicit biases on healthcare outcomes has become a concern, as there is some evidence that implicit biases contribute to health disparities, professionals' attitudes toward and interactions with patients, quality of care, diagnoses, and treatment decisions. This may produce differences in help-seeking, diagnoses, and ultimately treatments and interventions. Implicit biases may also unwittingly produce professional behaviors, attitudes, and interactions that reduce patients' trust and comfort with their provider, leading to earlier termination of visits and/or reduced adherence and follow-up. Disadvantaged groups are marginalized in the healthcare system and vulnerable on multiple levels; health professionals' implicit biases can further exacerbate these existing disadvantages.
Interventions or strategies designed to reduce implicit bias may be categorized as change-based or control-based. Change-based interventions focus on reducing or changing cognitive associations underlying implicit biases. These interventions might include challenging stereotypes. Conversely, control-based interventions involve reducing the effects of the implicit bias on the individual's behaviors. These strategies include increasing awareness of biased thoughts and responses. The two types of interventions are not mutually exclusive and may be used synergistically.