Telehealth Boom Opens New Roles for Oncology Nursing

Telehealth Boom Opens New Roles for Oncology Nursing

Seemingly overnight, many patients went from viewing telehealth as an intimidating frontier to embracing it with gusto. Fortunately, health care has prepared for years to put the infrastructure and people in place to support telehealth expansion.

Managing Cancer-Related PTSD Starts With Acknowledgement

Managing Cancer-Related PTSD Starts With Acknowledgement

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is often associated with survivors of military combat or natural disaster, such as refugees or veterans. However, patients with a current or past cancer diagnosis, and their loved ones, are at risk for developing cancer-related PTSD (CR-PTSD).

Pediatric Cancer Survivors Require Additional Care and Monitoring

Pediatric Cancer Survivors Require Additional Care and Monitoring

Most cancer diagnoses in the United States occur later in life, in patients older than 60 years, although most of the common pediatric diagnoses occur in those younger than 10 years. Pediatric and adult patients receive similar cancer therapies. The goal is to kill rapidly dividing cancer cells. Unfortunately, most of a child’s cells also undergo rapid division, and treatment can damage healthy tissue. Therefore, treatment that cures pediatric cancer can also cause long-term survivorship issues.

ONS Offers Companies the Oncology Nursing Society Seal of Approval™ to promote Oncology Nurse and Patient Support Materials

ONS Offers Companies the Oncology Nursing Society Seal of Approval™  to promote Oncology Nurse and Patient Support Materials

Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) has updated its Oncology Nursing Society Seal of Approval™ program, which provides additional benefits to companies interested in promoting nurse and patient support materials. Companies that submit materials and are approved can prominently display the Oncology Nursing Society Seal of Approval logo on marketing collateral for distribution to nurses and patients.

ONS Board Addresses Members About Racism and Disparities in Cancer Care

ONS Board Addresses Members About Racism and Disparities in Cancer Care

Dear Members,

At our June 4–5, 2020, meeting, the ONS Board discussed our personal heartbreak and anger over the death of George Floyd and other black Americans by aggressive police activity driven by racism. We also discussed ONS’s role and responsibilities as a member organization.

Care Delivery Models Guide Cancer Practice During COVID-19

Care Delivery Models Guide Cancer Practice During COVID-19

Healthcare institutions have used care delivery models to guide practice for years. A care delivery model provides a structured system for work assignments, responsibilities, and authority to provide optimal patient care.

Myeloproliferative Neoplasm Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Survivorship Recommendations

Myeloproliferative Neoplasm Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Survivorship Recommendations

Myeloproliferative neoplasms are a group of blood cancers that start with a small mutation in the stem cells of the bone marrow. Although MPNs are quite rare, essential thrombocythemia, polycythemia vera, and myelofibrosis are the most common types. Each represents a mutation of a different source of stem cell.

FDA Approves Oral Combination of Decitabine and Cedazuridine for Myelodysplastic Syndromes

FDA Approves Oral Combination of Decitabine and Cedazuridine for Myelodysplastic Syndromes

On July 7, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved an oral combination of decitabine and cedazuridine (Inqovi®) for adult patients with myelodysplastic syndromes, including the following:

FDA Launches Pilot Program on Patient-Reported Outcomes

FDA Launches Pilot Program on Patient-Reported Outcomes

Facilitating the provision of patient-centered care is an ONS priority. But until recently, quality information from the patient’s perspective was limited. This kind of information is often unavailable, limited in its breadth, or solicited from patients too late in the healthcare process, making their experience less understandable than necessary. In response, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) Oncology Center of Excellence created a pilot program, called Project Patient Voice, that will make patient-reported symptoms from cancer trials available to the public.

Prostate Cancer Clinical Trials Don’t Reflect Racial Diversity—And It’s Getting Worse Over Time

Prostate Cancer Clinical Trials Don’t Reflect Racial Diversity—And It’s Getting Worse Over Time

More than 96% of participants in prostate cancer clinical trials are non-Hispanic white men even though non-Hispanic black men represent 22% of prostate cancer diagnoses, researchers reported in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, and Prevention. Even more critical, enrollment rates of black or African American men have been declining since 1995.