A Study to Assess the Knowledge Regarding Safe Handling of the Chemotherapy Drugs Among Staff Nurses Working at Selected Cancer Hospital

Abstract

Cancer is the second leading cause all around the world population, and is responsible for an estimated 9.6 million deaths in 2018. Approximately 70% of death from cancer occur in low and middle income countries. Cancer is a genetic term for a large group of diseases that affect any part of the body. One defining feature of cancer is the rapid creation of abnormal cells that grow beyond their usual boundaries, and which can then invade adjoining parts of the body and spread to other organs, the latter process is referred to as metastasizing. Metastases are a major cause of death from cancer. Chemotherapy as a treatment modality was introduced in the late1950s and became established in medical practice in the 1970s. Chemotherapy is a systematic treatment rather than localized therapy. Chemotherapy drugs interfere with a cancer cell's ability to divide and reproduce. A single drug or a combination of drugs is used. These can be delivered either directly into the bloodstream, to attack cancer cells throughout the body, or they can be targeted to specific cancer sites. Chemotherapy is an invasive treatment that can have severe adverse effects. This is because the drugs often target not only cancerous cells but also healthy cells. The toxicity of chemotherapeutic agents has been well known since 1940s because these agents are nonselective in their mechanism of action and affect non-cancerous as well as cancerous cells, resulting in chromosomal damage, necrosis of comprised skin rashes, itching, and dyspnea.