With ONS celebrating Oncology Nursing Month throughout May and recognizing National Nurses Week from May 6–12, it’s a season for nurses everywhere. Celebrate yourself, your colleagues, and the profession by empowering the incredible nurses caring for patients across the globe.
Every year, the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) recognizes oncology nurses, employers, and researchers through its awards program. Today, the Society announced the recipients of the 2022 ONS Awards at the 47th Annual ONS Congress in Anaheim, CA.
Excessive amounts of a protein called beta2-spectrin may put people at increased risk for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which is the leading cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), researchers said in a report published in Science Translational Medicine. Developing treatments to lower the protein may help reduce the incidence of both diseases.
First approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2020 for treatment of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), avapritinib’s (AyvakitTM) approval was extended in 2021 for treatment of advanced systemic mastocytosis (AdvSM). Both approvals are for patients with PDGFR-alpha genetic variants.
People from all major racial and ethnic minority population groups in the United States report experiencing more COVID-19–related discrimination than White adults, including being threatened or harassed based on a perception of having COVID-19, according to results from a new study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
More than $560 million in provider relief fund (PRF) phase four distribution payments reached more than 4,100 healthcare institutions across the United States in February 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The funding will be used to help healthcare institutions prevent, prepare for, and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, including maintaining operations at facilities and recruiting and retaining healthcare professionals during the workforce shortage.
Cancer is one of the top five most expensive healthcare conditions to treat, costing the United States more than $157 billion annually. The payout from patients’ pockets may be even greater, with the cost of cancer medications alone standing at $895 billion per year. But paying for cancer during a pandemic? Even financially secure patients with healthcare coverage are struggling.
Internationally recognized for expertise in health services research, the U.S. healthcare system, and health policy analysis, Robert Otto Valdez, PhD, MHSA, was appointed as director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) in February 2022, where he leads the agency’s work in improving and promoting patient safety.
Initial treatment with two monoclonal antibodies significantly improves survival for patients with BRAF V600-variant advanced melanoma compared to treatment with two targeted agents, researchers reported during the November 2021 ASCO Plenary Series meeting. The initial findings were so conclusive that the study’s data safety and monitoring board stopped the trial early.
Some people may be overjoyed at the prospect of completing their cancer treatment and returning to normal life, but for many others, fear and anxiety can overshadow feelings of elation. The survivorship phase of a cancer journey can be confusing and uncertain. Comments like, “I don’t know what is next” and “The responsibility for care is now up to me” can alert oncology nurses that patients need additional communication and strategies to transition into healthy survivorship.