In the 2018 release of its annual cancer statistics report, the American Cancer Society announced that U.S. cancer death rates fell for the 24th year in a row. The findings were published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.
On February 14, 2018, Valentine’s Day, I had the honor of representing the ONS at the Congressional Families Caucus with Alec Stone, ONS director for public affairs, who made the connection between Congressional Families and ONS. The Congressional Families Caucus is made up of spouses of congressional members serving in the House of Representatives and Senate.
On January 24, 2018, the Senate officially confirmed the nomination of Alex Azar, the newest secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Azar replaces former HHS secretary Tom Price, a physician who stepped down in late 2017. Although confirmed along party lines, Azar’s long governmental experience had plenty of support despite his past connections to the pharmaceutical industry.
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has proactively shared new information and trends with the general public. Through its Cancer Trends Progress Report, NCI provides descriptions of research and data to help review past experiences and assist the agency in planning for future research funding.
On March 6, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved updated dosing information for nivolumab (Opdivo®). Nivolumab is now the first FDA-approved PD-1 inhibitor that offers a flexible dosing option of every two weeks at 240 mg or every four weeks at 480 mg for most approved indications.
In 2016, former President Obama signed the Comprehensive Addiction and Recover Act (CARA) into law. Since then, some aspects of drug addiction have been decriminalized and refocused as medical issues, helping to remove some of the stigma associated with addiction. Although CARA is a start when tackling addiction issues, several senators—both Republican and Democrat—want to take it a step farther in the national fight against opioid abuse.
The old saying, “it takes a village,” comes to mind. Many team members are needed to help a patient through one of the most critical times of their lives. Blood and marrow transplant (BMT) nurses play a large role, along with BMT physicians. However, we also depend on our BMT pharmacist, BMT dietician, and BMT social worker as part of the interprofessional team.
When faced with a difficult problem, it’s human nature to seek different perspectives, to work together with others facing similar issues to accomplish a common goal. Compromise, collaboration, and communication are essential to successful teams—whether it’s your daughter’s basketball team, the U.S. government, or any group in between. In oncology, teamwork is no different. Bringing together professionals from different disciplines can yield tremendous results for patients with cancer.
The white dress, emblazoned with a red medical cross, might be one of the most well-known fiction tropes about nursing, but it isn’t the only one—not by a longshot. In TV shows, movies, books, and more, nurses are often depicted in stereotypically inaccurate ways. Those misrepresentations paint a wildly incomplete picture of nursing’s role in patient care, often leading to real patients who misunderstand the crucial role nurses play in their care.