When I was first approached about the opportunity to precept a new graduate nurse, I was hesitant. Although I had trained experienced nurses, I was nervous about the challenges I might encounter in training a new graduate in a fast-paced environment.
On March 23, 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to avelumab (Bavencio, EMD Serono, Inc.) for the treatment of adults and pediatric patients 12 years and older with metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC). Avelumab is a programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) blocking human IgG1 lambda monoclonal antibody. This is the first FDA-approved product to treat this type of cancer.
Physical activity, by itself or in combination with psychological care, was found to be most successful at reducing cancer-related fatigue (CRF) in patients, according to a study published in JAMA. The researchers compared the efficacy of four different types of CRF treatments—exercise, the combination of exercise and psychological treatments, psychological treatments alone, and pharmaceutical treatments—to determine the most effective treatment for CRF.
One of the questions that the Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation (ONCC) commonly receives from nurses who’ve completed a continuing nursing education (CNE) program is, “How do these points count for ILNA and where can I put them on my learning plan?”
The antidepression drug duloxetine, which is approved to treat depression, anxiety, fibromyalgia, and diabetes nerve pain, may also relieve treatment-induced joint pain in breast cancer survivors receiving aromatase inhibitor therapy, according to the results of a study presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.
On March 15, 2017, the Trump administration released its first budget proposal, slashing federal spending in many areas of health care, education, environmental protection, and the sciences while increasing funding for defense and homeland security. The proposed budget would decrease spending for the Department of Health and Human Services by nearly 18%, which includes a 20% budget cut for the National Institutes of Health (NIH)—a decrease of nearly $6 billion. This stands to impact a number of cancer-related research programs developing new treatments and drugs through NIH funding.
Cold and clammy hands were tightly clasped around mine. Tears began welling up in her eyes. She struggled to mouth the words, “I have cancer.” Ten minutes ago, she and I were just strangers. As a part-time electrocardiogram transporter, I had just met this middle-aged woman, wheeling her down to the third floor for a computed tomography scan. After a brief introduction and small talk, I noticed a sense of despair in her eyes. I asked her if anything was troubling her. She told me she was just diagnosed with lung cancer with no family nearby to care for her.
In a new international partnership, ONS is teaming up with Health Volunteers Overseas (HVO) to provide opportunities for ONS members to work with healthcare providers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Volunteers are given the opportunity to make an impact by sharing their expertise through educating, training, and developing healthcare professionals in LMICs.
Results from a new clinical trial have shown that the targeted therapy drug ibrutinib, a BTK inhibitor, can effectively treat graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), a common complication from allogeneic stem cell transplants. The study findings were reported at the American Society of Hematology’s 2016 annual meeting.
To a crowd of more than 1,300 attendees at the South by Southwest Conference (SXSW) in Austin, TX, on March 12, 2017, former Vice President Joe Biden announced that the Biden Foundation, his new nonprofit organization, would be continuing the work of the National Cancer Moonshot Initiative, which he led during his final year as vice president.