title: Nutritional support of the elderly cancer patient: the role of the nurse.
abstract: Cancer in the geriatric population is a growing problem. Malnutrition is common in cancer. A number of factors increase the risk for malnutrition in older people with cancer, including chronic comorbid conditions and normal physiological changes of aging. Nurses have an important role in the nutritional support of older cancer patients. To contribute to the improvement of nutritional support of these patients, nurses need appropriate training to be able to identify risk for malnutrition and offer a range of interventions tailored to individual need. Factors to consider in tailoring interventions include disease status, cancer site, cancer treatment, comorbidity, physiological age, method of facilitating dietary change, and family support. This article identifies ways in which nurses can contribute to the nutritional support of older cancer patients and thus help mitigate the effects of malnutrition.
authors.affiliation: School of Healthcare Sciences, College of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK. Electronic address: HopkinsonJB@Cardiff.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Jane B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Hopkinson
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging; D015897:Comorbidity; D003376:Counseling; D004032:Diet; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D015577:Geriatric Assessment; D005851:Geriatric Nursing / Q000193:education; D006801:Humans; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000150:complications / Q000451:nursing* / Q000628:therapy; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000451:nursing* / Q000628:therapy; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D044623:Nutrition Therapy / Q000451:nursing*; D009752:Nutritional Status; D012307:Risk Factors; D012944:Social Support
keywords: Cancer; Education and training; Elderly; Nurse; Nutritional care