A nurse on the oncology unit is caring for a patient with an astrocytoma. The patient has just been told that the tumor is growing very fast. The patient asks the nurse how these tumors grow. What would be the nurse's best response?
A) "Astrocytomas infiltrate the surrounding neural connective tissue."
B) "Astrocytomas grow by invading the surrounding gray matter."
C) "Astrocytomas grow by invading the surrounding white matter."
D) "Astrocytomas spread down the spinal cord."
Ans: A
Feedback: Usually, astrocytomas spread by infiltrating into the surrounding neural connective tissue, and therefore cannot be totally removed without causing considerable damage to vital structures. Astrocytomas invade both the gray and white matter indiscriminately, and will grow down the spinal cord if they spread far enough. These answers are not the most correct.
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