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Opened in 1989, the Comprehensive Cancer Center (CCC) at Desert Regional Medical Center was the first multidisciplinary outpatient cancer program in the Palm Springs, California, area. The CCC represents the collaboration of the multispecialty regional medical center with Aptium Oncology, a national provider of oncology management and consulting services. The CCC now employs 120 healthcare professionals and provides a full range of services, including screening, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up care under one roof. Read More ›

In Buffalo, New York, there is a special type of continuity of care going on thanks to Marilyn and Julie Ross. This mother and daughter, both oncology nurses, treat a variety of patients on a daily basis at the same center.

With all the stresses and demands of their jobs, can oncology nurses live happily ever after? Yes, according to Jennifer Kenderski, BSN, RN, OCN, who presented a poster on building resiliency to compassion fatigue at the 16th International Conference on Cancer Nursing in Atlanta.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, known to most as the Health care Reform Bill, will change the US healthcare system. But this bill contains much more than just new insurance options. For nurses, nursing workforce development programs have been reauthorized.

Nurses from around the world met in Atlanta, Georgia, in March to attend the 16th International Conference on Cancer Nursing, cosponsored by the International Society of Nurses in Cancer Care (ISNCC) and the National Headquarters and South Atlantic Division of the American Cancer Society. The theme of the conference was Enhancing Knowledge, Promoting Quality.

What a different world is possible," said Vernice Ferguson, RN, MA, FAAN, FRCN, accepting the Distinguished Merit Award at the opening session of the 16th International Conference on Cancer Nursing in Atlanta, Georgia. She spoke of the importance of preventive medicine and the critical role nurses play in promoting healthy lifestyles, which she said could prevent the occurrence of up to one third of all cancers.

For patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (MM), bortezomib-based therapy is effective after lenalidomide plus dexamethasone (LD), according to a Canadian study that evaluated sequencing of novel agents presented at the 51st Annual Meeting and Exposition of the American Society of Hematology.

One third of patients with newly diagnosed, advanced chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) who received the combination of bendamustine and rituximab achieved a complete response, according to researchers from the German CLL Study Group.

The discipline of breast surgery, like many specialties, has moved toward a minimally invasive approach to local therapy. Radical surgery had previously been the standard; however, surgical approaches continue to evolve as we gather more data about the oncologic safety of less invasive procedures. In addition, we are placing more emphasis on targeted therapy, and surgery is an integrated portion of patient care. Read More ›

One in five Americans will develop skin cancer in his or her lifetime.¹ More than 1 million cases of nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) are estimated to go unreported each year. In 2009, more than 68,720 new cases of melanoma occurred, and melanoma caused 8650 deaths.¹