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    Innovative Oncology Nurses Break Down Communication Barriers for Patients Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing
    Special Populations
    Innovative Oncology Nurses Break Down Communication Barriers for Patients Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing
    March 10, 2023
    How I Practice Mindfulness as an Oncology Nurse
    Nurse well-being
    How I Practice Mindfulness as an Oncology Nurse
    March 03, 2023
    Clinical and Pharmaceutical Nurse Educators Collaborate to Bring Training to Nurses and Improve Patient Care
    Oncology nurse education
    Clinical and Pharmaceutical Nurse Educators Collaborate to Bring Training to Nurses and Improve Patient Care
    January 13, 2023
    Oncology Nurse Uses Retirement to Help Patients and Healthcare Professionals Understand Pancreatic Cancer Biomarker Testing Results
    Pancreatic cancer
    Oncology Nurse Uses Retirement to Help Patients and Healthcare Professionals Understand Pancreatic Cancer Biomarker Testing Results
    November 11, 2022
    The Life of Marie Curie and Her Contributions to Oncology
    Cancer treatments
    The Life of Marie Curie and Her Contributions to Oncology
    November 07, 2022
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    Pain management

    New SIO-ASCO Guideline Identifies Integrative Care Recommendations for Cancer-Related Pain
    Pain management

    New SIO-ASCO Guideline Identifies Integrative Care Recommendations for Cancer-Related Pain

    Cancer-related pain, whether from the disease or its treatments, is a distressing symptom that persists through survivorship. Pain diminishes patients’ quality of life and negatively affects their cancer-related outcomes.

    October 14, 2022
    Nurses Use Innovation to Perform Symptom and Pain Assessments
    Symptom management

    Nurses Use Innovation to Perform Symptom and Pain Assessments

    Symptom and pain assessment tools can measure multiple aspects of a patient’s pain experience in both ambulatory and acute care settings. My interest in symptom assessment began with to my work as an oncology nurse practitioner, when I witnessed how symptom management can make a positive difference in patients’ lives and ability to tolerate cancer treatment.

    July 12, 2022
    CMS’s Chronic Pain Experience Journey Map Will Help Patients and Providers
    Pain management

    CMS’s Chronic Pain Experience Journey Map Will Help Patients and Providers

    Highlighting the most prominent barriers that people accessing care face and the influencers acting on providers, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) unveiled in May Chronic Pain Experience Journey Map. The map came out of the work done under the 2019 Chronic Pain Stakeholder Engagement initiative to explore the serious role chronic pain has in patients’ lives.  

    June 15, 2022
    Mrs. Jones Gave Me the ‘Ah-Ha’ Moment That Guided My Entire Nursing Career
    Oncology nurse-patient relationship

    Mrs. Jones Gave Me the ‘Ah-Ha’ Moment That Guided My Entire Nursing Career

    After years of hard work, Mrs. Jones and her husband had what seemed to be an idyllic life traveling and enjoying their life together. As a newly minted nurse on the medical/surgical unit, I got to know them over the months I cared for her during repeated admissions for melanoma. At each admission, they would be side by side, inseparable and so in love. I was just a new bride, and I wondered if my marriage would be as magical as theirs.

    May 27, 2022
    Make Subcutaneous Administration More Comfortable for Your Patients
    Clinical practice

    Make Subcutaneous Administration More Comfortable for Your Patients

    Much of oncology nursing education focuses on IV administration of systemic therapies because for years, that was the only route. Until 2004, only two cancer therapies were approved for subcutaneous (SC) administration, and just nine others were added through 2012. However, as more familiar IV therapies get SC counterparts, including the more recent approvals of four high-volume monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), infusion nurses are using them more regularly in practice.

    January 04, 2022
    ONS Bridge

    Engagement Projects Help Patients Manage Stress and Anxiety

    Patients reported lower levels of pain and stress after participating in virtual reality and art therapy programs, according to presenters sharing findings from two different pilot projects during the ONS BridgeTM virtual conference on September 14, 2021.

    September 14, 2021
    ONS Bridge

    How One Organization Developed Tools to Predict Opioid Use Disorder Among Patients

    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.

    September 09, 2021
    The Case of the Mysterious Myalgia
    Immunotherapy

    The Case of the Mysterious Myalgia

    Randi is a 57-year-old patient who identifies as female. She was diagnosed with clear cell metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC), and her past medical history includes mild hypertension managed with amlodipine and a two-year history of transient musculoskeletal pain managed with tramadol. She reports a family history of cardiovascular disease and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Her primary care physician suspects Randi is at the beginning stages of fibromyalgia but has not made a conclusive diagnosis because she hasn’t experienced additional symptoms.

    July 20, 2021
    Electroacupuncture and Auricular Acupuncture for Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain in Cancer Survivors
    Pain management

    Electroacupuncture and Auricular Acupuncture for Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain in Cancer Survivors

    Chronic pain is a common but debilitating late effect for many patients with cancer. When undertreated, patients may experience negative functional, mental, and cancer-related outcomes. Although opioids are often effective for managing cancer pain, they may not be appropriate for some patients and others may struggle to access them because of the opioid crisis. The need for nonpharmacologic pain management options is critical. 

    May 14, 2021
    The Case of the Virtual Venture
    Clinical practice

    The Case of the Virtual Venture

    Staff in an oncology infusion unit located in an urban healthcare system watched as patient and caregiver stress increased during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic and the November 2020 U.S. presidential elections. During a team meeting, Holly, one of the nurses, brought up a study she read about that used virtual reality (VR) as a distraction for patients undergoing chemotherapy. The staff was interested in implementing a similar program at their institution but wasn’t sure how to start. What would you do?

    December 17, 2020
    How to Prevent Opioid Misuse While Effectively Managing Cancer Pain
    Pain management

    How to Prevent Opioid Misuse While Effectively Managing Cancer Pain

    Opioid misuse is prevalent among the U.S. population—so much so that President Trump declared it a public health emergency in 2017. At the same time, research shows that 20%–50% of patients with cancer and 80% of those with advanced-stage disease report experiencing moderate to severe pain. Balancing the dichotomies is difficult, but oncology nurses and other cancer care providers have a responsibility to provide comprehensive pain management for patients with cancer.

    May 12, 2020
    What Does the Evidence Say About Reiki for Cancer?
    Complementary therapy

    What Does the Evidence Say About Reiki for Cancer?

    Reiki is a complementary health approach in which practitioners place their hands lightly on or just above a person to promote a sense of well-being. It was founded by the Japanese Buddhist and spiritual teacher Mikao Usui in the early 20th century and brought to the United States in the 1930s, where it has become increasingly popular.

    November 21, 2019
    CMS Expands Project to Fight Opioid Abuse
    Health Policy

    CMS Expands Project to Fight Opioid Abuse

    Throughout the country, Americans have seen the effects of opioid abuse. Rising numbers of overdoses have sent shockwaves through communities from Miami to Seattle and everywhere in between. As such, addressing the national opioid epidemic is still a major priority for the Trump administration.

    November 18, 2019
    NIH HEAL Initiative Commits $945 Million to Opioid Research
    Health Policy

    NIH HEAL Initiative Commits $945 Million to Opioid Research

    Designated as a national epidemic, opioid addiction and abuse are front and center at the federal level as lawmakers work to support the discovery of new treatments and resources to curb the growing problem. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), with support from the White House, Congress, and the Department of Health and Human Services, awarded $945 million in funding for grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements across 41 states for the Helping to End Addiction Long-Term (HEAL) Initiative. Targeting novel chronic pain interventions, opioid abuse, and the addiction crisis, the HEAL Initiative will funnel funding and resources into efforts that can make an impact immediately and in the future for healthcare providers and their patients.

    October 13, 2019
    Pain Management Task Force Issues First Report on Pain Control Best Practices
    Medical reimbursement

    Pain Management Task Force Issues First Report on Pain Control Best Practices

    According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 50 million Americans experience acute and chronic pain daily. Managing the pain is debilitating and costly, and the impact on the economy is felt through employment issues along with a heightened burden on the healthcare system.

    June 21, 2019
    ONS Congress

    Nurses Have a Pivotal Role as Patient Advocates in the Opioid Crisis

    As the current landscape of opioid pain control becomes more complex, oncology nurses remain vital to safe and effective treatment. During a session on Wednesday, April 10, 2019, at the ONS 44th Annual Congress in Anaheim, CA, Tonya Edwards, MSN, MS, RN, FNP-C, of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, and Timothy Tyler, PharmD, FCSHP, FHOPA, of Desert Regional Medical Center’s Comprehensive Cancer Center in Palm Springs, CA, discussed the challenges of opioid pain management as well as actions nurses can take to protect patients.

    April 10, 2019
    Smartphone App Helps Patients Manage Cancer Pain
    Pain management

    Smartphone App Helps Patients Manage Cancer Pain

    A smartphone app that monitors patients’ self-reported cancer pain and uses artificial intelligence (AI) to differentiate urgent and non-urgent issues and provide real-time recommendations significantly reduced pain and pain-related hospital admissions, researchers reported in an abstract presented at the November 2018 Palliative and Supportive Care in Oncology Symposium in San Diego, CA.

    March 27, 2019
    Giroir Reflects on Public Health Programs After First Year at HHS
    Health Policy

    Giroir Reflects on Public Health Programs After First Year at HHS

    Washington, DC, and the larger federal government are filled with dedicated professionals who toil quietly, often anonymously, in support of programs, initiatives, and agency work in service of the American public. Such is true for the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) lesser-known leaders like Admiral Brett Giroir, MD, assistant secretary for health, who reflected on his time at HHS as he helped guide the department’s efforts in public health.

    March 12, 2019
    Opioid Access; Smoking Age Increase; House Medicare for All
    Prescription medication

    Opioid Access; Smoking Age Increase; House Medicare for All

    Efforts to curb the national opioid epidemic have taken shape in several ways, including redefined prescription guidelines. However, many insurers are now refusing to cover certain pain medications like the ones commonly prescribed to patients with cancer. For years, ONS has been meeting with congressional offices to advocate that access to prescription opioids for cancer survivors should be exempt from the strict limits assigned to other diagnoses. It’s always been a successful strategy, because ONS helps policy leaders understand that patients with cancer often struggle with issues related to severe pain management, quality of life, and end-of-life care.

    February 18, 2019
    HHS Awards $1 Billion to Fight Opioid Crisis
    Pain management

    HHS Awards $1 Billion to Fight Opioid Crisis

    Recognizing the continuing impact of the national opioid epidemic, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has dedicated $1 billion in funding through a new awards program called the Five-Point Strategy to Combat the Opioid Crisis. The program will empower communities to implement strategies to curb opioid abuse and addiction.

    February 16, 2019
    Opioids Have Been a Healthcare Concern Since the 1980s
    Pain management

    Opioids Have Been a Healthcare Concern Since the 1980s, but Here’s How Nurses Can Help

    Although the opioid crisis was formally labeled a public health emergency in late 2017, excess drug abuse beyond prescription directions has been a public health concern for much longer—since the 1980s, in fact. At the November 2018 Center for Advancing Palliative Care Annual Seminar in Orlando, FL, speakers Lynn Hallarman and Mary McPherson presented a session on how the opioid crisis came to be and what our role as nurses is in changing culture and ultimately addressing it.

    January 22, 2019
    President Trump Signs Opioids Legislation Into Law
    Health Policy

    President Trump Signs Opioids Legislation Into Law

    Developed to combat the nation’s opioid crisis, a comprehensive opioid addiction bill has finally made its way to the president’s desk. On October 25, 2018, President Trump signed the opioid package into law. The new law allots more than $8 billion to address addiction, drug trafficking, and recovery issues. 

    November 01, 2018
    Obamacare Premiums Stabilize; Senate Opioid Package; Medicare for All Questions
    Affordable Care Act (ACA)

    Obamacare Premiums Stabilize; Senate Opioid Package; Medicare for All Questions

    Millions of Americans depend on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace for their health insurance. In the past, costs have been unstable, seeing insurance premiums rise and competition flee. However, new reports estimate that Americans who receive health coverage from ACA will only see moderate increases to their premiums for 2019. During earlier repeal and replace efforts of Obamacare—otherwise known as ACA—the healthcare marketplace was volatile for consumers. Some insurers pulled out of the marketplace, leaving those that remained able to sharply increase premiums.

    September 17, 2018
    Evidence Is Building for Acupuncture as an Opioid Alternative for Cancer Pain
    Complementary therapy

    Evidence Is Building for Acupuncture as an Opioid Alternative for Cancer Pain

    Pain is the most common and debilitating side effect that patients with cancer experience. Contributing factors include the disease itself via tumor invasion on surrounding tissue and bone; nerve compression; treatments including chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery, especially chemo-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), which can be disabling; and aromatase inhibitors that can cause persistent diffuse joint pain. In addition, pain that “breaks through” continuous pain medicine can be difficult to predict and control.

    September 12, 2018
    FDA Commissioner Addresses Chronic Pain and Opioid Use
    Pain management

    FDA Commissioner Addresses Chronic Pain and Opioid Use

    As the opioid epidemic ravages American lives, every federal agency with an opportunity to review access is stepping up efforts to find appropriate lines between offering proper care and potentially enabling abuse. In a recent statement, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, acknowledged the challenge of balancing quality care efforts with overprescribing medications and the potential ease of access to opioids.

    September 11, 2018
    ONS Member Paice Shares Pain Management Policy Burdens With NCI
    Pain management

    ONS Member Paice Shares Pain Management Policy Burdens With NCI

    For the past two years, opioids have drawn the attention of researchers, members of Congress, the president, and the general public. With stories of drug abuse and heartbreaking tragedy, the problem with opioids in America has been dubbed an epidemic. Federal funding has accompanied the call to combat overdoses and adjust treatment plans to change the way addiction is dealt with from a medical perspective.

    August 30, 2018
    House Overwhelmingly Passes Final Opioid Package
    Health Policy

    House Overwhelmingly Passes Final Opioid Package; Texas v. the United States Could Impact Patients With Preexisting Conditions; Lawmakers Who Forged ACA Look Back

    Through tremendous bipartisan support, the House of Representatives passed comprehensive opioid legislation to address the national abuse epidemic in the United States on June 22, 2018. For many healthcare advocates, an opioid legislation package has been a long time coming. The opioid crisis has been in the news since before the 2016 presidential election but was brought to the forefront during that campaign.

    July 02, 2018
    HHS Pain Task Force Discusses the Opioid Epidemic’s Impact on Patients, Providers
    Pain management

    HHS Pain Task Force Examines Opioid Epidemic Impact on Patients, Providers

    The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force held its first public meeting from May 30–31, 2018, in Washington, DC. Convened as part of 2016’s Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, the task force has been charged to address the nation’s continued opioid abuse crisis. During the two-day meeting, the 28-member task force deliberated on the goals of an upcoming study, set to be released July 2019, that aims to update best practices and clinical guidelines, while also addressing gaps and inconsistencies in chronic and acute pain management.

    June 04, 2018
    ONS Congress

    Oncology Nurses Have a Responsibility to Identify and Prevent Opioid Abuse in Patients With Cancer

    As the opioid abuse epidemic prevails in the United States, patients with cancer can be affected. Yu-Ping Chang, PhD, RN, FGSA, associate dean for research and scholarship in the School of Nursing at the University at Buffalo in New York, and Tonya Edwards, MS, MSN, BSN, FNP-C, a nurse practitioner of supportive care at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX, discussed how the opioid epidemic affects patients and how to identify and prevent opioid and substance abuse during a session at the 43rd Annual Congress in Washington, DC.

    May 23, 2018
    ONS Congress

    Opioids Are Not Always the Answer

    As the opioid crisis continues in the United States, helping patients find effective and safer ways to manage their pain becomes increasingly important. During a session at the 43rd Annual Congress in Washington, DC, Jeannine Brant, PhD, APRN, AOCN®, FAAN, of Billings Clinic in Montana, instructed nurses on ways to treat cancer-related pain and discomforts other than (or in addition to) narcotic pain medicines.

    May 18, 2018
    NIH Completes In-Depth Genomic Analysis
    Genetics & genomics

    NIH Completes In-Depth Genomic Analysis; Senate Panel Unveils Draft Opioid Bill; Teenagers Struggle to Quit Vaping

    Researchers for the PanCancer Atlas, a genomic data set reference tool, recently completed an analysis of molecular and clinical information from more than 10,000 different tumors spanning more than 33 cancer types. The PanCancer Atlas is the result of nearly a decade’s worth of work associated with the Cancer Genome Atlas—a multi-institutional program driven by the National Human Genome Research Institute and the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The results of the analysis were published as a set of 27 papers.

    April 09, 2018
    Medicare Cracks Down on Opioid Prescriptions
    Health Policy

    Medicare Cracks Down on Opioid Prescriptions, Abuse; Health Care Tops Poll of American Worries; Leading Chemotherapy Researcher, Physician Dies at 92

    An estimated 14.4 million Medicare recipients were prescribed some form of opioid treatment in 2016, paid for by their Medicare benefits. In an attempt to help curb the national opioid epidemic, officials from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that Medicare would no longer pay for long-term, high-dose prescription pain medication. Unsurprisingly, the plan received flak from patient and provider advocacy groups alike. Opponents to the CMS announcement decried the efforts, citing barriers to crucial medications needed for patients in chronic or severe pain—including those with cancer.

    April 02, 2018
    The Case of the Pain Paradox: Follow-Up and Clinical Trial
    Pain management

    The Case of the Pain Paradox: Follow-Up and Clinical Trial

    The January 2018 case study introduced Vince, a 55-year-old man receiving chemotherapy and radiation for recurrent bladder cancer. He suffers from chronic back pain because of spinal stenosis and has been on opioid therapy for nearly two years.

    March 20, 2018
    NIH Devotes Funding to Precision Research for Childhood Cancer
    Research

    NIH Funds Precision Research for Childhood Cancer; Will Congress Lift Medicaid Ban for Opioid Epidemic?; FDA-Approved Breast Cancer Test May Impact Oncology Nurses

    Cancer treatments aren’t one-size-fits-all, and they differ greatly depending on age.  As the leading cause of disease-related death for children, pediatric cancers pose a critical threat to this population. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), one reason pediatric cancer mortality rates persist is because there’s “limited knowledge” related to the biological mechanisms affecting childhood cancers. NIH-funded studies are breaking ground and uncovering new information about the genomics of pediatric cancers.

    March 12, 2018
    Bipartisan Bill Unveiled to Fight Opioid Epidemic
    Health Policy

    Bipartisan Bill Unveiled to Fight Opioid Epidemic; FDA Renews Commitment to Curb Tobacco Use; Walker Embraces Obamacare for Wisconsin Residents

    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.

    March 06, 2018
    Margo McCaffery’s Contributions to Pain Management
    Pain management

    Remembering Margo McCaffery’s Contributions to Pain Management

    Former ONS member Margo McCaffery, RN, MS, FAAN, was a leader and pioneer in pain management for nursing. Through her work, she helped to identify and treat patients with acute and chronic pain in a number of healthcare settings. McCaffery’s 1968 definition of pain was simple—“It’s whatever the experiencing person says it is, existing whenever and wherever the person says it does.” Her words have become a touchstone for clinicians addressing and treating patients in pain.

    January 18, 2018
    The Case of the Pain Paradox
    Pain management

    The Case of the Pain Paradox

    Vince was diagnosed with non-muscle invasive, high-grade bladder cancer at age 54 and treated with intravesical Bacille-Calmette Guerin immunotherapy. He stopped smoking and began a consistent walking program. 

    January 16, 2018
    Patients With Cancer Pain Still Need Safe Access to Opioids
    Pain management

    Despite Regulations, Patients With Cancer Pain Still Need Safe Access to Opioids

    Each day, more than 175 Americans die from an opioid-related overdose. Misuse of, addiction to, and overdose from opioids cost the United States $78.5 billion a year, “including the costs of health care, lost productivity, addiction treatment, and criminal justice involvement.”. Other alarming numbers abound: 21%–29% of patients who are prescribed opioids misuse them, 4%–6% of those transition to heroin, and 80% of people who use heroin first misused prescription opioids.

    January 08, 2018
    white house commission on opioids
    Prescription medication

    White House Commission Reports on Drug Addiction and Opioid Epidemic

    In the past few years, drug abuse and opioid addiction levels have grown to epidemic proportions. In 2016, Congress passed the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) to decriminalize drug use and reclassify addiction as a disease. After President Obama signed CARA into law, the bill allocated hundreds of millions of dollars to combat the epidemic, alongside funding for Americans in need of addiction treatment and support.

    December 13, 2017
    cancer survivors have higher rate of opioid prescription use
    Research

    Cancer Survivors Have a Higher Rate of Opioid Prescription Use

    Even 10 years after diagnosis and without recurrence, cancer survivors have a higher opioid prescription rate than healthy controls, according to the results of a study published in Cancer.

    October 11, 2017
    Assess and Manage Cancer-Related Pain
    Pain management

    Assess and Manage Cancer-Related Pain

    Despite the findings that more than 90% of cancer pain can be controlled with routine interventions, many patients continue to experience pain throughout their cancer diagnosis and treatment. The average pain score for patients on inpatient oncology units is 5.87 on a 0–10 scale, and 25% of patients spend more than 50% of the time in constant or severe pain.

    October 10, 2017
    Comfort Care Concerns
    Pain management

    The Case of the Comfort Care Concerns

    Phil is a 63-year-old man who is admitted to the inpatient oncology unit for severe pain resulting from metastatic small cell lung cancer. His wife and two daughters are at his bedside. Earlier in the day, the medical oncologist discussed additional treatment options or hospice care. Phil decided on comfort care with the hope of getting his pain managed and going home on hospice.

    September 19, 2017
    Manage Pain in Patients With Cancer
    Pain management

    Manage Pain in Patients With Cancer With These Tools and Resources

    One distinct, uniquely personal symptom unifies almost all patients with cancer: pain. It can be as wildly varied and different as each patient it affects. It can be acute, sudden experiences of pain, or the symptoms can be chronic and perpetual. Patients undergoing the treatments associated with cancer often suffer varying degrees of pain through their cancer journeys, which leads to significant physical and psychosocial burdens. This can decrease their quality of life and potentially impact their overall outcomes. A 2015 National Comprehensive Cancer Network report suggested that the evidence suggests a clear link between improved survival outcomes and adequate symptom management.

    September 01, 2017
    Advanced Care Planning
    Advance care planning

    ONS Shares Views on Advance Care Planning, Patient Access to Opioids in Comment Letter to CMS

    ONS joined the Patient Quality of Life Coalition (PQLC) in signing a final comment letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) administrator, Seema Verma, on the agency’s proposed 2018 updates to the Quality Payment Program, CMS-5522-P. PQLC, which represents patients, health professionals, and healthcare systems, advocates for palliative care for patients and families facing serious illness.

    August 30, 2017
    opioid epidemic
    Pain management

    Trump Declares Opioid Crisis a National Emergency; Recent Poll Shows Health Care, Government Most Important to Americans; FDA Launches Campaign to Fight Youth E-Cigarette Use

    Experts currently estimate that opioid addiction kills nearly 100 Americans every day, and the scale of the problem is continuing to grow. In response, President Trump to unofficially declared the opioid crisis a national emergency during a public statement from his golf resort in Bedminster, NJ, on August 10, 2017.

    August 14, 2017
    Substance Abuse and Addiction
    Pain management

    Managing Pain in Patients With Substance Use Disorder

    In their article in the April 2017 issue of the Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, Compton and Chang provided a guide for nurses caring for patients with substance use disorder (SUD), including overview, diagnosis, and treatment of SUD as well as its implications for pain management and cancer treatment considerations when a patient with SUD is diagnosed with cancer.

    June 13, 2017
    Chemical Coping
    Pain management

    When Ineffective Pain Control Means Chemical Coping

    Central to our role as oncology nurses is provision of symptom relief balanced with a manageable side-effect profile. Although opioids are extremely effective at cancer pain management, they also bind to the brain’s limbic system and can produce reward responses. This can result in dependence and drug-seeking behaviors.

    May 22, 2017
     Opioid Crisis Prevention
    Health Policy

    HHS Announces Opioid Crisis Prevention Program

    Prescription drug abuse has reached epic proportions in the United States. Efforts have been made to help combat this growing issue. In 2016, President Obama signed into law the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA) to reclassify drug abuse as a disease instead of a crime.  

    May 18, 2017
    Opioids
    Pain management

    The Case of the Omitted Opioid

    Rocky is a 56-year-old man with stage III oropharyngeal cancer. He is undergoing concurrent chemotherapy and radiation. Rocky is a long-haul truck driver, has had sporadic medical care in the past, has no primary care provider, and usually visits the emergency department in whatever town he is in when he gets sick. He was diagnosed during one of those visits after an episode of hematemesis.

    May 16, 2017
    ONS Congress

    Tips for Managing Chronic Pain in High-Risk Patient Populations

    Pain management is often necessary for patients with cancer and other high-risk conditions. Despite guidelines and treatment algorithms, caring for this patient population can be challenging. Oscar DeLeon, MD, of the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Kathleen Broglio, DNP, ANP-BC, ACHPN, CPE, FPCN, from Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, and Jennifer Grimmer, DNP, FNP-BC, of the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, discussed strategies and best practice for pain management during a session at the 42nd Annual Congress in Denver, CO.

    May 04, 2017
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