Opioids are one strategy to help manage the cancer-related pain that nearly 75% of patients with cancer experience throughout the disease or its treatment. However, the prevalence of opioid misuse disorder (OUD) among patients with cancer is believed to be at least equal to that of the general population, Debra Rodrigue, MA, RN-BC, AOCNS®, explained during a session for the ONS BridgeTM virtual conference on September 9, 2021.
Nurses must serve as care coordinators for patients with genitourinary cancers because of the many tests, procedures, and self-care instructions they require, Clara Beaver, MSN, RN, AOCNS®, ACNS-BC®, and Joan Livingstone, BScN, RN, OCN®, both of Karmanos Cancer Institute at Wayne State University in Detroit, MI, said during a session at a ONS BridgeTM virtual conference on September 9, 2021. They emphasized the complexity of genitourinary cancers throughout diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship.
From elementary to college environments, virtual education is now commonplace, and, according to Jillian A. Russell, MSN, RN, NPD-BC, program manager at the Association for Nursing Professional Development, careful planning and creativity can make remote experiences just as—or even more—effective as traditional, in-person learning.
ONS collaborated with the National Community Oncology Dispensing Association, Hematology/Oncology Pharmacy Association, and Association of Community Cancer Centers to launch the IV Cancer Treatment Education (IVE) online resource. After the success of the highly used Oral Chemotherapy Education (OCE) online resource, the four oncology healthcare organizations expanded their collaboration to launch this new initiative that provides patient and caregiver resources about IV cancer therapies and their side effects.
TP53 and MYOD1 variants are associated with more aggressive forms of rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare childhood cancer, and poorer outcomes, according to the results of the largest international genomic profiling study of the disease. The findings, which were published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, have implications for somatic biomarker testing to guide tailored treatment approaches.
Ibrutinib produces durable disease control for patients with high-risk hairy cell leukemia, a rare cancer, who have relapsed and for whom standard purine analogues are not a feasible therapeutic option, according to study results published in Blood.
A cancer diagnosis can be difficult for any patient to receive, but a rare cancer diagnosis can put additional stress on a patient and their family. They may feel isolated and struggle to find accurate information on their diagnosis, which may be minimal because of limited funding and research. Rare cancer advocacy groups and programs offer critical patient support and empowerment, raise awareness, and initiate research for treatments.
As individual diseases, cancer diagnoses like pheochromocytoma (cancer of the adrenal gland), neuroendocrine cancers, and malignant mixed Mullerian tumors (also called carcinosarcomas) are rare, but collectively they’re more common than breast, colon, lung, or prostate cancer.
One of the many lessons we’ve learned since early 2020 is to hope for the best but prepare for the worst. When COVID-19 vaccination rates climbed and infection rates declined in spring 2021, we all confidently looked to September for a return to prepandemic activities. However, the Delta variant’s rapid transmission in July and resulting surge in infection rates paused our plans as the United States reevaluated the safety of a full return without restrictions.
Simon is a 72-year-old patient diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia. He underwent an HLA-identical sibling peripheral blood stem cell transplantation with fludarabine and melphalan as conditioning chemotherapies before the procedure. Simon is now more than 12 days posttransplant but still neutropenic with an absolute neutrophil count of 0. He has no signs of engraftment, is on total parenteral nutrition, and requires multiple blood transfusions and electrolytes through his central line catheter daily.