Ann Culkin on Easing Patient Fears of Cancer Treatment Related Side Effects

Ann Culkin, RN, OCN, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses the important points of treating a patient undergoing chemotherapy.

The most important thing for a patient to understand, Culkin says, is that their pain and suffering will be managed to the best of the medical team’s ability while they are in chemotherapy. Nurses can acknowledge the side effects that a patient fears going into chemotherapy and reassure them. There is also the ever-growing survivorship care that is often part of a nurse’s responsibility.