Navigating patients through radiation treatments can be challenging when they are undergoing concurrent therapy. Coordination of multiple providers across different specialties, side effect management, and scheduling can be overwhelming. During a session at the ONS 44th Annual Congress in Anaheim, CA, Dorothy Abshire, BSN, BA, RN, OCN^®, of Baylor Scott and White McClinton Cancer Center, Waco, TX, explained how oncology nurses can help patients navigate complicated treatment regimens that involve both chemotherapy and radiation therapies.

Radiopharmaceuticals, or radioactive drugs, are playing an increasing role in cancer diagnosis and treatment and thus are an increasingly relevant area of practice for oncology nurses, Paul Searfoss, BS, CNMT, ARRT (N, CT), of Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, TN, said during a session on Saturday, April 13, 2019, at the ONS 44th Annual Congress in Anaheim, CA.

Spinal cord compression (SCC)—an oncologic emergency—is the initial presentation in roughly 20%–33% of patients with a malignancy, Carol S. Viele RN, MS, OCN^®, of the University of California, San Francisco, School of Nursing, said during a session on Saturday, April 13, 2019, at the ONS 44th Annual Congress in Anaheim, CA. Nurses can play a key role in recognizing the condition and getting patients into early treatment that may help preserve their function, she said.

Early diagnosis and advancements in cancer treatment have markedly improved five-year cancer survival rates. By 2026, an anticipated 20.3 million cancer survivors will be living in the United States. On Saturday April 13, 2019, Kathleen Wiley, RN, MSN, AOCNS^®, discussed survivorship care and the challenges that nurses are perfectly positioned to address during a clinical chat at the ONS 44th Annual Congress in Anaheim, CA.

Caregivers for patients with advanced cancer provide crucial support but often have unmet needs. During a session at the ONS 44th Annual Congress in Anaheim, CA, J. Nick Dionne-Odom, PhD, RN, ACHPN, of University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Tara Albrecht, PhD, ACNP-BC, RN, of Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine in Richmond, discussed new research in palliative care and the role of nurses in supporting patients and their families.

Many times, when patients are asked about their wishes at the end-of-life, they perceive it as asking how they want to die, which can be scary for patients and a hard conversation for nurses. What if there was a way to change that conversation to suggest that it is way more about how the patient would want to live? In her session “Advance Care Planning: It’s About Life,” on Friday, April 12, 2019, at the ONS 44th Annual Congress in Anaheim, CA, Erin Dickman explained how the advance care planning process can help nurses hold those conversations.

Workplace violence is both highly prevalent and underreported in health care settings, according to Melissa Weigel, RN, and Lorina Welper, APRN, CNS, MS, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, who spoke during a session on Friday, April 12, 2019, at the ONS 44th Annual Congress in Anaheim, CA.

What the parents of a child dying from cancer need to hear above all from the healthcare professionals caring for their child is that everything possible has been done, to the best of the health care team’s ability, said Pamela S. Hinds, PhD, RN, FAAN, in the 2019 Mara Mogensen Flaherty Memorial Lecture on Friday, April 12, 2019, at the ONS 44th Annual Congress in Anaheim, CA.

The number of U.S. adults aged 65 and over is rapidly increasing: by 2030, they’re estimated to represent about 70% of cancer diagnoses. During a session on Friday, April 12, 2019, at the ONS 44th Annual Congress in Anaheim, CA, speakers discussed how the complexities of cancer care can affect the expanding population of older adults with cancer.

Infusion reactions, hypersensitivity reactions, anaphylaxis, and tumor lysis syndrome are oncologic emergencies that are seen in both inpatient and ambulatory settings. Advanced practice RNs (APRNs) are often the first providers to respond to those emergencies. During a session on Friday, April 12, 2019, at the ONS 44th Annual Congress in Anaheim, CA, Patricia Jakel, RN, MN, AOCN^®, of the University of California, Los Angeles, Health System in Santa Monica, discussed oncologic emergencies and the APRN’s role in rapid identification of a diagnosis.