Las personas con cáncer suelen recibir tratamiento a través de una vena. El término médico para esto es tratamiento intravenoso (i.v.). De este modo, su equipo de atención médica puede administrarle quimioterapia, otros medicamentos, transfusiones de sangre y líquidos. Los dispositivos médicos denominados catéteres y puertos facilitan los tratamientos intravenosos. También pueden facilitar la extracción de muestras de sangre para el equipo de atención médica.

Background

People with cancer often get treatment through a vein. The medical term for this is intravenous (IV) treatment. Your health care team can give you chemotherapy, other drugs, blood transfusions, and fluids this way. Medical devices called catheters and ports make intravenous treatments easier. They can also make it easier for your health care team to take blood samples.

What are catheters and ports?

A catheter is a thin tube made of soft plastic that goes inside a vein. Your health care team uses the catheter to give treatment through that vein.

Two Top Five Lists in Oncology have been developed as part of ASCO's participation with the Choosing Wisely campaign, an initiative of the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation aiming to get physicians, patients, and other health care stakeholders thinking and talking about the value of each medical test, procedure, and treatment. The first list was released in April 2012 and the second on October 29, 2013. Both highlight five tests, procedures, and treatments that are commonly used in cancer care but not supported by evidence and should be questioned.

Nausea and vomiting are common and sometimes serious side effects of cancer treatment. Chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and other cancer treatments can cause nausea and vomiting.

Many people have health conditions in addition to cancer. Any health concern that you have at the same time as cancer can be called a co-existing condition, a chronic condition, or a comorbidity. One in 4 adults have at least 2 chronic conditions and they are even more frequent in adults who are aged 65 and older.

Some common types of co-existing conditions are:

• High blood pressure

• Heart disease

• Lung disease

• Diabetes

• Kidney disease

• Arthritis