The National Institutes of Health Revitalization Act of 1993 mandated appropriate inclusion of minorities in all NIH-funded research. Yet more than 20 years later, vast disparities still exist in cancer research, researchers reported in a session for the inaugural ONS Bridge™ virtual conference.

Although immune checkpoint inhibitors can be highly effective cancer treatments, potentially even curative in several disease states, they can cause immune-related adverse events in any tissue or organ system, presenters said in a session at the inaugural ONS Bridge™ virtual conference.

Over the past three years, Sharon, age 38, has been intermittently receiving treatment for ovarian cancer. She was initially treated with carboplatin and paclitaxel and remained in remission for 20 months. She responded well to second-line therapy (carboplatin, gemcitabine, and bevacizumab), remaining on bevacizumab maintenance until she experienced a relapse eight months later.

The cacophony that echoes through the 24-hour news cycle can be heavy on an average day but overwhelming during a global health pandemic. That is why relying on a trusted voice is essential when attempting to understand how to deal with the voluminous information that bombards us through radio, television, emails, social media, and any other channels that deem themselves news outlets these days.

Oncology nurses use many tools to help our patients, but one of the most effective is our words.  However, our terminology may be overwhelming to patients and feel like medical jargon. We also often use terms to describe how a patient is experiencing cancer, reporting adverse events, noncompliance, failing treatment, and palliative care, which can be confusing and misleading.

Patients who receive bone marrow transplantations require vigilance for complications such as graft versus host disease, opportunistic infections, and febrile neutropenia. During a presentation for the inaugural ONS Bridge™ virtual conference, Barbara E. Wenger, DNP, APRN, AOCNS^®, CRNI, of UCHealth Metro, and Stephanie Armstrong, DNP, AGNP, NP-C, of Froedtert Hospital Clinical Cancer Center, described interventions to improve care quality in the BMT population.

The transition of chemotherapy and immunotherapy delivery from the acute care and clinic settings to the home setting has created a need for innovative strategies to keep patients safe. Today, with decreased face-to-face interactions, the need for those strategies and tools is even greater in a system reliant on multiple facilities and disciplines to collaborate care in a time when resources are sometimes scarce or minimal, Mary Jo Sarver, ARNP, AOCN^®, CRNI, VA-BC, LNC, said in an on-demand session for the inaugural ONS Bridge™ virtual conference.

Perhaps now more than ever, oncology nurses may need to be reminded to reflect on what brings them joy and meaning in their work—and how to find it again, if they’ve lost it along the way.

Bullying behaviors remain prevalent in nursing, resulting in turnover, poor work performance, and emotional trauma. During a session for the inaugural ONS Bridge™ virtual conference, Terri Townsend, MA, RN, CCRN-CMC, CMSRN, of Community Hospital Anderson, and Pamela Anderson, MSN, RN, CCRN, ANP-BC, of St. Vincent Medical Group, shed light on how to eliminate this pervasive issue.