Articles

SEATTLE—New doctors have received on-the-job training in residency programs for decades. Now, a growing number of new nurses are doing the exact same thing. Nurse residency programs are now rising in popularity and that, in part, is due to hospitals trying to stave off a huge projected nursing shortage over the next 10 to 15 years.

CHICAGO—Targeted intraoperative radiotherapy (TIR) for breast cancer, in which radiotherapy is confined to the area of the breast where the tumor has been removed, has been found to be as good as whole breast radiotherapy at reducing breast cancer recurrence. Most important, the new data presented at the 46th annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology showed TIR can be carried out in just one hospital visit.

More than 400 navigators came together for 2 days of education, networking, and professional development, all with the goal of improving oncology patient care and quality of life. At its First Annual Navigation and Survivorship Conference, the Academy of Oncology Nurse Navigators (AONN) welcomed all team members involved in these crucial aspects of patient care—nurses, social workers, lay navigators, navigation and survivorship program administrators—from throughout the country and around the world.

St. Luke’s Mountain States Tumor Institute (MSTI) provides advanced cancer care to patients at clinics in Boise, Fruitland, Meridian, Nampa, and Twin Falls, Idaho. Spanning more than 180 miles across southwestern Idaho, MSTI cares for patients from rural areas and from metropolitan areas. Because of geographic isolation, many people in rural areas present at later stages of disease. In addition, large Hispanic populations in the rural counties of the state are not getting screened for cancers on recommended timelines.

As early as 3000 BC, descriptions can be found on Egyptian papyruses documenting reconstructive techniques used by priest doctors to restore altered appearances to normality. The upper echelons of Egyptian society placed great importance on appearance, and this seems to have been the stimulus for development of modern-day plastic surgery. Read More ›

After coping with the initial shock of a cancer diagnosis, many women decide to take a proactive approach and seek sound information and advice so that they can make informed decisions about their healthcare. The Oncology Nurse recently spoke with two young women who found that support groups were a valuable resource for obtaining information and forming bonds with other patients and survivors. One went on to create her own group to help women with specific needs she felt were not being met based on her own experience.

Cytotoxic chemotherapy is one of the cornerstones for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer (MBC). Read More ›

CHICAGO—Early initiation of palliative care (PC) in the management of metastatic non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) led to a longer survival time and better quality of life (QOL) than standard treatment, in a randomized phase 3 trial.

The study compared QOL and clinical outcomes for early PC versus standard oncology care in 150 patients with newly diagnosed metastatic NSCLC. 

Aresearch-based educational program aimed at enhancing communication between non-Hodgkin lymphoma patients and their healthcare providers has just been launched and is available for healthcare providers.

Framing Life With Lymphoma was developed by the Cancer Support Community, which unites The Wellness Community and Gilda’s Club World wide, and was supported by a grant from Cephalon.