Care coordination, appropriate adverse event assessment and treatment, and rapid, continuous learning are essential priorities for oncology nurses to care for patients receiving immunotherapy, according to the experts who participated in ONS’s immunotherapy summit in March 2018.
For the four most common cancer sites (breast, prostate, colorectal, and lung cancer), the median age of patients in clinical trials is an average of 6.5 years younger than the median age of patients diagnosed with that cancer. And the age disparity is worsening, researchers reported in JAMA Oncology.
The Baby Boomer generation—born between the years 1946 and 1964—currently accounts for more than 76 million Americans, all of whom will be older than 65 in the next decade. With an aging population comes health complications and growing comorbidities. Cancer is often referred to as a disease of the aging, and healthcare providers will need to be equipped to treat the impending wave of older adults with cancer.
By bringing together gero-oncology experts from the ONS membership, staff, and leadership, the ONS geriatric oncology group is identifying gaps in geriatric oncology nursing research and care and connecting ONS members with available resources targeting this vulnerable population. Adult patients with cancer—aged 65 and older—already make up a majority of patients that oncology nurses see. Despite the population’s prevalence throughout cancer institutions and clinics, many nurses are not acutely familiar with the specialized care required to successfully help them navigate their treatment.
Few know the power that prescription medications have on the quality of life for patients more than nurses. In more than just physical ways, access to affordable drugs is essential to patient-centered care and emotional, psychological, familial, and even financial stability. For too long, the cost and availability of medicines have been barriers to health care, rather than opportunities for survivorship.
A 33-year-old woman presents to the emergency department with fever, weight loss, and dyspnea. She is five months pregnant. A computed tomography (CT) chest scan without contrast shows a large mediastinal mass. Biopsy demonstrates Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), but magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of her abdomen and pelvis without contrast is negative for lymphadenopathy. Her echocardiogram and pulmonary function testing are normal.
As health care advances, so too does our understanding about the numerous conditions affecting patients, including their mental health and well-being. Messaging from federal agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about mental health is taking an inclusive, wholistic approach to the many aspects of mental health. CDC presented new educational applications for providers to consider when talking to their patients about mental well-being and their continued success in treatment.
The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) is the highest honor early-career professional researchers can receive from the federal government. On July 15, 2019, two nurse researchers were included among this year’s recipients. National Institute of Nursing Research-supported scientists, Sarah Rossetti, RN, PhD, and Tracey L. Yap, PhD, RN, WCC, CNE, FGSA, FAAN, were acknowledged for their promise and leadership in nursing science and patient-centered research.
On July 30, 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda®) for patients with recurrent, locally advanced or metastatic, squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus (ESCC) whose tumors express PD-L1 (combined positive score [CPS] ≥10), as determined by an FDA-approved test, with disease progression after one or more prior lines of systemic therapy.
On July 30, 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved darolutamide (Nubeqa®) for non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.