HEALTH ASSESSMENT

Holistic Health Assessment across Lifespan



Holistic Health Assessment across Lifespan

General Statement

A 39 year old male whose 90% of the upper body is covered with tattoo. He is bald and approximately 6 foot tall. He weighs around 200 pounds and his Body Mass Index is 27.1 kg/m2.

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Character

It involves describing the sign or symptom, how does it feel, look, sound, smell, etc? Unfortunately, the symptoms of lung cancer can take many years to develop which often leads to diagnosis at an advanced stage of disease. Symptoms that may occur include (Ferreiro & Alcamo, 2007):

Smoker's cough that persists or becomes severe.

Persistent chest, shoulders, or back pain unrelated to pain from coughing.

Increased volume of sputum.

Wheezing.

No smoking cough that persists for more than 2 weeks.

Change in sputum color.

Fatigue.

Loss of appetite.

Headache, bone pain, joint pain.

Onset

When did it begin? It began at the time of smoking. At first, there was chest pain which occurred on the side of the affected lung tumor (Stewart, 2010). Nature of pain varies in intensity. Most often this is due to involvement in the process of the parietal pleura, and later - intrathoracic fascia, the intercostal nerves, ribs (up to their destruction). In the latter case have been particularly excruciating pain, permanent and almost impossible to remove with analgesic drugs.

Location

Where is it? Does it radiate? Location of peripheral tumors in the apex of the lung, pleura with its transition to the adjacent nerve and brachial plexus passes near the trunk of the sympathetic nerve leads to a particularly excruciating pain, Horner's syndrome appearance.

Duration

How long does it last? The pain may last till few minutes to agonizing hours. Mostly, the pain lasts about two to three minutes. However, pain may transfer from one part of the body to another.

Pattern

What makes it better: what makes it worse? Activities which require extensive efforts may result in crucial pain. On the other hand, bed rest may ease the pain to some extent (Claudia & Peggy, 2002).

Associated Factors

What other symptoms occur with it? Other symptoms include the bone fractures which are not related to accidental injuries, neurological symptoms such as unsteady gait and / or loss of episodic memory. In addition, neck and facial swelling also occurs.

Past History

Lung cancer is a disease caused by the proliferation of malignant cells that grow abnormally and uncontrollably, invading the lung tissue itself close to it and, in many cases, spreading through the blood and lymph vessels to distant organs. Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer in developed countries. The pure and pipe smokers are also exposed to this risk but to a lesser extent. Many epidemiological data demonstrates the relationship between snuff and lung cancer (Caplan & McCartney, 2004). Large studies conclude that the increase in lung cancer and snuff consumption is directly related. On the other hand, there is considerable loss of breath and fatigue, loss of hair, and nails get easily broken.

Family History

There is no one in the family who has suffered from lung ...