Radiation therapy may cause traumatic side effects in patients with cancer, yet many standard management strategies lack strong evidence. During their session at the ONS 44th Annual Congress in Anaheim, CA, Renata Benc, RN, BA, MSc(A), CON(C), of Jewish General Hospital of the Integrated Health and Social Services University Network for West-Central Montréal in Quebec, Canada, and John Hillson, RN, BSN, BA, OCN^®, of Duke Cancer Institute in Durham, NC, instructed nurses on how to support patients undergoing radiation treatment.

Robotic surgery represents the most significant advancement to date in minimally invasive surgery, Lisa Parks, MS, APRN-CP, ANP-BC, of James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, said during a session on Thursday, April 11, 2019, at the ONS 44th Annual Congress in Anaheim, CA.

At first this seems like a bold statement, but think about it for a moment. What do we know about Florence Nightingale? She is credited as the founder of modern nursing and embodied nursing leadership and advocacy. She improved hygiene practices in hospitals, resulting in fewer infections and deaths. She pioneered statistical analysis on the conditions surrounding the provision of medical care, especially during the Crimean War, and used visual presentations (or early infographics).

The communication deficit among healthcare professionals, families, and patients is a barrier in the delivery of end-of-life care and can result in conflict, according to Elizabeth Thiel, MD, MS, of the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, and Andria Caton, BSN, RN, OCN®, CHPN, of Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville. Thiel and Caton discussed end-of-life communication and the role that nurses play in those conversations during a session on Wednesday, April 10, 2019, at the ONS 44th Annual Congress in Anaheim, CA.

Immunotherapy has evolved into the “fourth pillar” of cancer care, along with surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy, according to Laura S. Wood RN, MSN, OCN®, of the Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Center in Ohio and Krista M. Rubin, MS, RN, FNP-BC, of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, who spoke during a session on Wednesday, April 10, 2019, at the ONS 44th Annual Congress in Anaheim, CA. Immunotherapeutic agents, however, are vastly different from chemotherapies and have a distinct toxicity profile that advanced practice nurses must be familiar with.

Although nurses strive to promote evidence-based interventions, many practices and beliefs persist despite limited research to support them.

As the current landscape of opioid pain control becomes more complex, oncology nurses remain vital to safe and effective treatment. During a session on Wednesday, April 10, 2019, at the ONS 44th Annual Congress in Anaheim, CA, Tonya Edwards, MSN, MS, RN, FNP-C, of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, and Timothy Tyler, PharmD, FCSHP, FHOPA, of Desert Regional Medical Center’s Comprehensive Cancer Center in Palm Springs, CA, discussed the challenges of opioid pain management as well as actions nurses can take to protect patients.

Researchers have developed a device that can separate various cell types in patient blood samples based on the cell size, which may one day enable rapid, inexpensive liquid biopsies to help clinicians detect cancer and develop targeted treatment plans. Findings from the research that led to the device are reported in Microsystems and Nanoengineering.

Making a treatment decision for a cancer diagnosis is a very complex and challenging event for patients. This is particularly evident among men with prostate cancer. Because so many treatment options exist, often without a single best therapeutic or medical outcome, many men with prostate cancer may have challenges when making a treatment decision. Most patients rely on their providers to help them better understand their diagnosis, available treatments, impact, and side effects from treatment, but patients will ultimately seek external information to inform their decision-making process.

As the use of oxaliplatin in the treatment of gastrointestinal, gynecologic, and other cancers continues to grow, so too does the incidence of hypersensitivity reactions connected to the drug. Because the development of HSRs may require patients to discontinue oxaliplatin even if it’s effective against their cancer, oncology nurses need to be able to prevent or minimize reactions whenever possible.