You are working on care coordination for a 53-year-old woman with newly diagnosed polycythemia vera. She needs to meet with a social worker because her headaches and dizziness are preventing her from working and she will require transportation for regular treatment. The social worker wants to know what kind of treatment is expected. How will you answer her question?

a) "We will be giving her IV fluids in our office."

b) "We need to arrange a visiting nurse to administer erythropoietin."

c) "We are planning chemotherapy for this patient."

d) "She will need to go to the outpatient hospital unit for regular blood transfusions."

c) "We are planning chemotherapy for this patient."

Explanation:

Polycythemia vera is a type of blood cancer. It is slowly growing cancer in the blood in which too many red blood cells are being produced by the bone marrows.

Polycythemia vera cancer is very rare and if remained untreated can be life threatening.

The increase in red blood cells makes the blood thicker and makes it difficult to flow thus causing blood clotting or heart attack.

When the social worker wants to know what kind of treatment is expected, we will answer that we are planning chemotherapy for the old patient.

Thus the answer is c) "We are planning chemotherapy for this patient."