Complications of cancer
- Airway obstruction
- Ascites
- Biliary tract obstruction
- Bleeding
- Bowel obstruction
- Fistulae
- Gastric outlet obstruction
- Hypercalcaemia
- Increased intracranial pressure (ICP)
- Lymphoedema
- Oesophageal obstruction
- Pathological fracture
- Pericardial effusion
- Pleural effusion
- Renal tract obstruction
- Spinal cord compression
- Syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone ADH release (SIADH)
- Venous thromboembolism
- Wounds
Presentations
- Agitation
- Anorexia / Cachexia
- Constipation
- Cough
- Delirium
- Diarrhoea
- Dry mouth
- Dysphagia
- Dyspnoea
- Fatigue
- Hiccups
- Insomnia
- Itch
- Nausea and vomiting
- Neoplastic fever
- Psychiatric symptoms, such as:
- Terminal secretions
- Vomiting
For each presentation and condition, Advanced Trainees will know how to:
Synthesise
- recognise the clinical presentation
- identify relevant epidemiology, prevalence, pathophysiology, and clinical science
- take a comprehensive clinical history
- conduct an appropriate examination
- establish a differential diagnosis
- plan and arrange appropriate investigations
- consider the impact of illness and disease on patients and their quality of life when developing a management plan
Manage
- provide evidence-based management
- prescribe therapies tailored to patients’ needs and conditions
- recognise potential complications of disease and its management, and initiate preventative strategies
- involve multidisciplinary teams
Consider other factors
- identify individual and social factors and the impact of these on diagnosis and management
- Epidemiology
- Pathophysiology
- Pharmacology of symptom-directed pharmacotherapy
Clinical assessment tools
Investigations
- Blood tests
- Bronchoscopy
- Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)
- Endoscopy
- Imaging, such as:
- bone scan
- CT scan
- echocardiogram
- MRI
- PET scan
- ultrasound
- x-ray
Procedures
- Ascitic tap:
- Biliary stenting
- Gastrointestinal stenting
- Pericardial:
- Pleural tap:
- Pleurodesis
- Renal tract stenting
- Surgical:
- decompression of cord compression
- fixation of fractures
- Anticipatory prescribing and management plans based on likely disease trajectory
- Prognostic implications of symptoms and conditions