In 2019, the mood was hopeful. As we looked ahead to the next decade, Republicans and Democrats in both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate appeared to be at a consensus point on a major policy issue: access to affordable prescription medications for the American public.

On August 14, 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved melphalan (Hepzato™) for injection or hepatic delivery system (Hepzato Kit) containing melphalan as a liver-directed treatment for adult patients with uveal melanoma with unresectable hepatic metastases affecting less than 50% of the liver and no extrahepatic disease, or extrahepatic disease limited to the bone, lymph nodes, subcutaneous tissues, or lung that is amenable to resection or radiation.

Individuals at risk for financial toxicity from the high costs of hematologic cancer care reported saving an average of $2,500 when guided by the services of an oncology financial navigation program, researchers reported in the Journal of Oncology Practice.

On August 14, 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to elranatamab-bcmm (Elrexfio™), a bispecific B-cell maturation antigen-directed CD3 T-cell engager, for adults with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who have received at least four prior lines of therapy, including a proteasome inhibitor, an immunomodulatory agent, and an anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody.

ONS donated a library of oncology nursing publications to healthcare providers from Ethiopia who traveled to City of Hope in Duarte, CA, in February 2023 for a three-week radiation training program.

On August 11, 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the fixed dose combination of niraparib and abiraterone acetate (Akeega^™) plus prednisone for adult patients with deleterious or suspected deleterious BRCA variant metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, as determined by an FDA-approved test.

On August 9, 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval to talquetamab-tgvs (Talvey^™) for adults with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who have received at least four prior lines of therapy, including a proteasome inhibitor, an immunomodulatory agent, and an anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody.

On August 9, 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted regular approval to pralsetinib (Gavreto^®) for adult patients with metastatic, rearranged during transfection fusion-positive non-small cell lung cancer as detected by an FDA-approved test.

Nurses often cite the fact that the profession is the most trusted, according to Gallup polls—as if that is enough to validate our profession’s status. Although the COVID-19 pandemic raised awareness for frontline workers, only recently have we begun to understand the nurse’s value in the health policy environment. Nurses have a real voice at the decision-making table, and Healing Politics’ Campaign School for Nurses and Midwives is helping to make strides.