Julia’s Case Study

Strengths

First, Julia’s ability to follow doctor’s prescription and recommendation is a significant strength that
can play great role in the management of her condition. Second, the presence of Julia’s son, Neil, is a
great strength as the son can not only provide love and hope in her life but also offer her the
required assistance and support. The son can also help Julia make informed decision regarding her
health. Third, Julia seems to have come to term with her condition and prognosis. This can play an
important in lessening stress and promoting coping with the disease. Julia also has good memories
of her life as well as childhood and she appears to have a feeling of accomplishment with whatever
she has been able carry out during her lifetime. Moreover, Julia does not have financial problem,
therefore, she can able to afford her medications and treatments and buy nutritious die, including
fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, which are an important preventive measure for cancer. The last
strength is Julia’s friendship with Lucy, which can play an important role in reducing loneliness
because of close interactions. Social connection can be vital element in improving her mental,
emotional, and physical wellbeing and health.

Concerns

Julia’s weaknesses is a major concern as it means the patient cannot carry out daily activities such as
cooking, gardening, or cleaning the house since she at risk of fall. The second concern is Julia’s
decision to terminate her treatment since she is not experiencing any improvements in spite of her
son wanting her to continue with the cancer treatment. The third concern for Julia is the current and
future pain linked to cancer. Due to the progressive and chronic nature of cancer, its pain is a
common cause for alarm. The pain is essentially as a result of tissue damages resulting from either
chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or the disease itself. The fourth concern is Julia’s respiratory status,
which can result in breathing problems such as shortness of breath. The last concern is Lucy’s health
as she had a knee replacement, which has greatly hindered her daily activities.

Cause of Concern

            The leading cause of concern is that Julia all along has had side-effects from her cancer
treatment.  For instance, she asserts that she is always feeling weak and her prognosis is poorer.
Consequently, due to the knee replacement, Lucy has physical problems which make it quite
challenging for her to offer support and care to Julia. Due to her condition, Julia requires substantial
support. Equally, a conflict is apparent between Julia, Lucy, and Neil. Neil wants the mother to carry
on with the cancer treatment; however, Julia wants to terminate the treatment because she is not
witnessing any improvement. In the same vein, Julia may feel that Lucy does not want to support
and care for her; and this may as well result in conflict between the two.  

Information Needed

It is vital to examine Julia’s functional status and establish the services that are available to her. On a
similar note, is important to assess Lucy and Julia’s knowledge base in regards ailment progression
and management to determine self-care and management. Lucy’s knee also needs assessment avoid
complications. Finally, it is important to check the medication or drugs taken by Julia to investigate
possible interaction or side effects.

Julia’s Experience
            Julia is experiencing the physical discomfort that is attributable to lung cancer. She is
essentially experiencing weakness as well pain, which can lead to deterioration of her health and
wellbeing.

References

Mercadante, S., Masedu, F., Valenti, M., & Aielli, F. (2020). Breakthrough Pain in Patients with Lung
Cancer. A Secondary Analysis of IOPS MS Study. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 9(5), 1337.

Seo, Y. J., & Park, H. (2019). Factors influencing caregiver burden in families of hospitalised patients
with lung cancer. Journal of clinical nursing, 28(9-10), 1979-1989.

Sun, V., Raz, D. J., Erhunmwunsee, L., Ruel, N., Carranza, J., Prieto, R., ... & Kim, J. Y. (2019).
Improving family caregiver and patient outcomes in lung cancer surgery: Study protocol for a
randomized trial of the multimedia self-management (MSM) intervention. Contemporary clinical
trials, 83, 88-96.