Remote verification methods through virtual care nurse models and telehealth technologies have merit, but the evidence is inadequate to determine safety or efficacy, according to the latest findings from a team of ONS members and staff that were published in the Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing.

The first innovation in stem cell mobilization for multiple myeloma in a decade, motixafortide (Aphexda™) received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval on September 11, 2023. The drug’s clinical trial demonstrated that one dose of motixafortide plus filgrastim enabled a majority of patients to achieve the collection goal of at least six million hematopoietic stem cells.

Innovation—a proactive effort to create or build on ideas—is something that oncology nurses and advanced practice providers (APPs) do every day. This month’s 49th Annual ONS Congress^® reminds us to “ignite the extraordinary” and recognize how we can use our strengths to blaze new trails for oncology and health care. Step by step, we all have opportunities to innovate in oncology nursing through evidence-based practice, quality improvement, the development of new products and technology, and research.

Dance/movement therapy (DMT) is an integrative symptom management modality that uses the elements of dance and movement along with other body-focused activities, including guided imagery, mindfulness, breath awareness, and therapeutic play to support self-expression and promote well-being. Defined by the American Dance Therapy Association as “the psychotherapeutic use of movement to promote emotional, social, cognitive and physical integration of the individual,” DMT has been used in pediatric cancer settings. However, data on its delivery and outcomes are limited.

A few years ago, ONS member Amy Gundelach, RN, MSN, AG-CNS-BC, OCN^®, survivorship program coordinator at the University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center in Albuquerque, was managing two male patients—a 25-year-old and a 30-year-old—who were seeking a survivorship support group of young adult peers and a survivorship therapist for young adults. She discovered that her institution didn’t have any materials tailored specifically tailored for young adult cancer survivors’ needs, compared to their older counterparts.