Chemotherapy

Abstract
Two studies were conducted to determine the knowledge cancer patients receiving chemotherapy have about their drugs and to determine the role of the nurse in reviewing chemotherapy information with cancer patients. The first, a descriptive study, sought to determine how much information was retained from the Informed consent procedure by adult oncology patients receiving chemotherapy for a variety of malignancies. A lack of knowledge of chemotherapy was found in the sample. In the second study subjects were randomly assigned to receive an Information visit by a nurse after the physician had obtained Informed consent. Subjects receiving the information visit showed greater accuracy of recall 3–4 weeks later than the control subjects who received a noinformative visit by the nurse. The experimental group (Information group) recognized significantly more of the names of the drugs than did the control group (t(22) = 2.73, p < 0.05). Their experimental group also recognized significantly more of the possible side effects of the drugs (t (22) = 3.21, p < 0.01), and of their lethal side effects (t(22) = 2.22, p < 0.01).