A client, who is receiving chemotherapy on a medical unit due to a rec

A client, who is receiving chemotherapy on a medical unit due to a recent diagnosis of terminal cancer of the liver, has an in-depth conversation with the nurse. The client says, “This cannot be happening to me.”

The nurse identifies that this stage is associated with, according to Kübler-Ross:
1. Anxiety
2. Denial
3. Confrontation
4. Depression

ANSWER

ANS: 2
According to Kübler-Ross, the client is in the denial stage of dying. The client may act as though nothing has happened, may refuse to believe or understand that a loss has occurred, and may seem stunned, as though it is “unreal” or difficult to believe. There is no stage of anxiety in the five stages of dying of Kübler-Ross. There is no stage of confrontation in the five stages of dying of Kübler-Ross. During depression the individual may feel overwhelmingly lonely and withdraw from interpersonal interaction.