October 22, 2018

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) released a short video featuring ONS member Ann O’Mara, PhD, RN, MPH, program director in the NCI’s Division of Cancer Prevention. She speaks directly about research  projects focusing on supportive and palliative care for patients with cancer. O’Mara specifically highlights a recent study determining the impact of acupuncture on pain for patients with cancer.

October 21, 2018

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sent out a reminder to healthcare providers to share education and resources with their patients about breast cancer screening, detection, and prevention. CDC included a list for providers to highlight:

  • Breast cancer risk factors
  • Knowing what to do to lower those risks
  • When to get regular breast cancer screenings
October 20, 2018

Every federal agency is required to submit a plan and proposal to Congress outlining its budget for the next fiscal year—or years—as well as justifications for how and why the department needs the requested allotment. In September 2018, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) released its Annual Plan and Budget Proposal for Fiscal Year 2020.

October 16, 2018

On October 16, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved talazoparib, a poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitor, for patients with deleterious or suspected deleterious germline BRCA-mutated, HER2‑negative locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer. Patients must be selected for therapy based on an FDA-approved companion diagnostic for talazoparib.

October 16, 2018

The Right-to-Try law, which has been in effect since May 2018, may have a misleading name, given that it doesn’t require drug manufacturers to grant access to experimental treatments that have passed phase I trials to any patient who seeks it. Rather, the law grants terminally ill patients the “right to ask” the drug company directly, but the request can be denied for several reasons (e.g., limited supply, expense).