In many ways, palliative care is central to oncology nursing. Defined as care provided to maintain or improve the quality of life of those with a serious illness or injury, this holistic, inclusive symptom control care is something oncology nurses provide as part of routine daily practice—even if they do not label this practice as such.
Bonnie, a 70-year-old woman, arrives at the outpatient oncology clinic to learn about treatment options for stage IIB small cell lung cancer. During the intake process, Bonnie tells Daryl, an oncology nurse, that despite her new lung cancer diagnosis, she just can’t seem to find the willpower to quit smoking. What would you do?
Mammography screening recommendations should be based on risk, rather than age, according to the results of a new study published in Annals of Internal Medicine.
On November 10, 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved nivolumab (Opdivo® injection, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company), for the treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck with disease progression on or after a platinum-based therapy.
The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), formerly the Institute of Medicine, has elected ONS member Deborah W. Bruner, RN, PhD, FAAN, to its 2016 class of leading health scientists and international members. Bruner, professor in the department of radiation oncology at Emory University and associate director of faculty membership, training, and education at the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, has long been recognized for her work in clinical trials and her research of sexuality after cancer therapy.
In an article in the July 2016 issue of the Oncology Nursing Forum, researchers set out to study the experience of women specifically with estrogen receptor- (ER-) positive breast cancer and what they felt helped or hindered their survivorship experience.
Overweight and obese women who maintain a Western diet may develop dense breast tissue that may increase their risk for breast cancer, according to a study published in Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Practicing self-care and compassion is an important part of well-being. One barrier to self-compassion is the pursuit of perfectionism. Logically, perfectionism is unreachable; however, research shows that many people base their self-esteem on achieving perfectionism and being flawless.
The political stars were aligned, a rarity in today’s contentious environment, as ONS held its first organizational advocacy days in Washington, DC, in September 2016. A total of 100 oncology nurses took part in the event to carry the ONS Health Policy Agenda and legislative priority list to Capitol Hill.
In September, I had the honor to join more than 100 ONS members as we convened in Washington, DC, to advocate for issues important for cancer care and oncology nursing. The National Cancer Moonshot Initiative report had just been released, and our group was invited to the White House office building for a conversation with Vice President Biden.
