As we enter the final few months of 2020, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Year of the Nurse and Midwife, I find myself thinking about the theme that we had for our 45th Annual ONS CongressTM: Purpose, Power, Passion. WHO’s intent in designating the year was to elevate nursing globally and showcase the many roles that nurses have in health care. In the United States, Gallop surveys consistently rank nurses as the most trusted profession, but our colleagues in other countries do not have a similar means of recognition.
In part thanks to advancements in both cancer treatment and supportive care, the number of cancer survivors is expected to reach 22 million by 2030.
Understanding correct coding strategies is an important skill that affects billing and reimbursement for value-based cancer care. Meeting the requirements for complete and accurate documentation is critical to support healthcare claims. Both nurses and advanced practice providers have responsibilities in this work.
Lymphomas are hematologic malignancies, specifically of the lymphatic system. They are classified into two types: Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin (NHL). NHL is the seventh most common cancer in the United States and Hodgkin seen much less frequently as the 26th, but new treatment options have improved survival rates.
My role as a nurse navigator, for both patients with cancer and in the neuroscience arena, is the culmination of a 40-year career in oncology nursing. I got my start in nurse navigation 11 years ago. At the time I was working in Hoag’s brain tumor program and noticed that those patients had needs that we weren’t meeting. So, I shared my concern with the program directors and today Hoag continues to develop its brain tumor navigator role.
An annual flowering herb native to East Asia, Cannabis sativa is cultivated around the world. It is used in traditional medicine as an analgesic, hypnotic, hallucinogenic, sedative, and anti-inflammatory. Preparations derived from its flowers, leaves, and hashish made from its resinous extract are taken orally, by smoking, or by vaporizing. Cannabis teas, tinctures, ointments, and oil-based extracts that can be mixed into food products are also popular.
The phrase “a new normal” is used in the oncology setting to describe the changes a person faces as a result of cancer and its treatments. Physical and emotional scars plus activity limitations are examples of adjustments cancer survivors make as they define what will be their new normal. But in today’s media, the new normal is being used to label the changes the world’s population is facing as a result of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
Nursing’s role in health equity, public health emergencies, and COVID-19 is a critical issue for updates to its Future of Nursing 2020–2030 report study, the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) said during a webinar on August 20, 2020, that sought public input on nurses’ roles in responding to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
Turning off an enzyme that glioblastoma cells use to store the fatty acids they feed on as energy for rapid cell division may offer a new treatment option for the deadly cancer, researchers reported in Cell Metabolism.
Nurses can now navigate patients with prostate cancer to a virtual simulation for guidance on all aspects of the disease, from screening to treatment. Plus, providers can interact with Nathan, the simulation avatar, in a clinical encounter to help improve their consultation skills when discussing screening and treatment decisions with men. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released this resource after launching its popular simulation for patients with breast cancer.