Having high expectations can motivate you to achieve your very best. In the extreme, however, aiming for perfection can be dangerous to your mental health. In a 2015 TED Talk, self-proclaimed perfectionist Petra Kolber passionately revealed that despite being at the top in her field in the fitness industry, she felt her best was never good enough and she lived a joyless life.
Cancer-related fatigue is a serious, debilitating symptom that affects nearly 90% of patients following treatment, with the majority reporting the adverse event at moderate to severe levels. It can prolong hospital stays and limit patients’ ability to complete their treatments and resume daily activities, ultimately affecting quality of life and survival. Despite high prevalence rates, cancer-related fatigue was reported as “inadequately addressed” in findings from a large multisite study.
Oncology nursing awakens a sense of purpose that drives us to be true patient advocates. As chair of my institution’s shared governance committee, I have found that being conduits for our patients empowers nurses to find solutions that take care to the next level. It’s driven me to find better outcomes, care, and treatment for my patients simply because their health is important to me. I am at the bedside for my patients’ entire cancer journey.
Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-targeted therapy is effective for several solid tumor malignancies, primarily non-small cell lung cancer with EGFR mutation and metastatic colorectal cancer. Although the agents spare patients from typical side effects seen with more conventional cytotoxic chemotherapies, such as nausea or vomiting, they do have a unique side-effect profile, including potentially dose-limiting cutaneous toxicity.
The two most recent administrations prioritized ending the HIV epidemic, which has claimed the lives of more than 700,000 Americans since the virus was first identified in the 1980s. To follow those initial efforts, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a strategic roadmap to end the HIV epidemic and reduce new HIV infections by 90% by 2030.
On March 10, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved tivozanib (Fotivda®), a kinase inhibitor, for adult patients with relapsed or refractory advanced renal cell carcinoma following two or more prior systemic therapies. FDA approved the application three weeks ahead of its goal date.
The draft 2020 U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) lung cancer screening recommendations were intended to increase the number of high-risk minorities eligible for lifesaving tests. And they do, but not as much as USPSTF anticipated, still leaving gaps and disparities, researchers reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. They created a risk model to augment the guidelines that eliminated the disparities for most racial groups.
In honor of World Cancer Day on February 4, 2021, First Lady Jill Biden, EdD, took a virtual tour of the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH's) National Cancer Institute (NCI) and met with NIH Director Francis Collins, MD, PhD, and NCI Director Ned Sharpless, MD, to discuss advancements in cancer research, the steady decline in cancer mortality, and cancer-related legislation, among other topics.
In 2019, PI3K inhibitors became a new treatment option for postmenopausal women and men with HR-positive, HER2-negative, PIK3CA-mutated, advanced or metastatic breast cancer with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of alpelisib in combination with fulvestrant. Although alpelisib remains the only PI3K inhibitor approved today, others are in clinical trials, and the new class of agents has a unique safety profile.
After a contentious election season, U.S. Representative Lauren A. Underwood, RN, (D-IL) returned to Capitol Hill as a new subcommittee chair and the same drive to push forward on healthcare issues, most recently with an open letter to President Joe Biden.