A client angrily tells the nurse that he cannot understand why he has liver cancer when he started out with bladder cancer. The nurse would recognize that the client misunderstands how a malignant tumor metastasizes when he states that cancer can spread by
A) attaching to white blood cells.
B) direct extension into the lymphatic system.
C) invasion into the blood vessels.
D) new growths into internal body cavities.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

For the purposes of study, the metastatic cascade may be divided into three stages. Stage 1 involves invasion of neoplastic cells from the primary tumor into surrounding tissue and penetration of blood and lymph vessels. Metastatic spread to distant organs and tissues is almost always the result of cells moving through the bloodstream. Direct expansion of tumors in body cavities occurs as cells travel throughout the cavity to develop new growth on other serosal surfaces.

A Client Angrily Tells the Nurse That He Cannot Understand