Approved in 2006 as monotherapy for the treatment of patients with EGFR-expressing metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) after disease progression following treatment, panitumumab has been a mainstay metastatic disease for more than a decade. In 2014, it received additional indication as first-line therapy for the treatment of patients with EGFR-expressing mCRC in combination with FOLFOX, but in 2017, use was narrowed to wild-type RAS (not mutated RAS). 

Alongside 11 other national nursing organizations, ONS Chief Executive Officer Brenda Nevidjon, MSN, RN, FAAN, participated in a meeting with President Trump, Vice President Pence, and other leaders from the administration at the White House on March 18, 2020, to discuss the nursing community’s needs and response to the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic. Administrators from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Coronavirus Task Force also attended.  

“I don’t want to die.”  “What is my prognosis?”  “Is this a death sentence?” 

Oncology nurses were represented at a March 18, 2020, White House briefing with President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, and other members of the U.S. Coronavirus Task Force. Brenda Nevidjon, MSN, RN, FAAN, Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) chief executive officer, was invited to attend the meeting along with other nursing association leaders to discuss the health and safety of oncology nurses and the patients they care for during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic.

Physical and mental clutter can negatively affect your mood, productivity, and overall health. Think about how you feel when looking for a misplaced report on a disorderly desk covered with papers stacked atop magazines next to a conglomerate of used cups and scattered pens. Or observe your thoughts as they randomly shift from subject to object and back again. Being in a state of perceived chaos can stimulate feelings of anxiety and biologically increase cortisol levels. 

Children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) at risk for cancer recurrence in the brain don’t need prophylactic radiation therapy, researchers reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. 

When the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic hit the United States, in a matter of days clinicians were scrambling to find novel ways to screen, triage, and provide telehealth interventions to protect patients with chronic conditions who are especially vulnerable to COVID-19. As nurses, we are accustomed to helping patients in crisis acclimate to a changing environment, process large amounts of information, and have their psychosocial needs met.

Although many oncology nurses are well versed in donning and doffing (removal) of personal protective equipment (PPE) for administering hazardous drugs, but not infection control. Additionally, nursing colleagues in other specialties may not wear PPE as part of their daily practice. As the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic changes that, oncology nurses should understand PPE use for infection control to promote safety for nurses and patients.   

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer affecting men and women in the United States. When CRC is found at an early stage before it has spread, the five-year relative survival rate is about 90%, yet it remains a leading cause of cancer-related death among both genders. 

The COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic is turning the world, inside and outside of the hospital, upside down. Not only are oncology nurses seeing high demands at work, but changes and restrictions are being instated at home as well.