To save costs and reduce the number of meetings, the ONS Board combined the traditional January and March meetings into a late-February meeting. It served as my final in-person board meeting, a bittersweet moment filled with reflection on ONS’s past, present, and future.
New guidelines and consensus recommendations for managing immune-related adverse events (irAEs) from checkpoint inhibitors are available from several key cancer and immunotherapy organizations: a collaboration between the American Society of Clinical Oncology and National Comprehensive Cancer Network, and a separate consensus recommendation from the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer. ONS contributed to the development of both sets of guidelines.
Presidential appointees come, and presidential appointees go. Recently, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) director resigned for financial conflicts of interest. The new Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary, Alex Azar, sought to fill the important public health role as soon as possible. With opioids, the flu, vaccine shortages, and cancer prevention under the purview of the CDC, finding a new director was crucial to continuing the agency’s work.
Writing images from one’s memory and imagination can be a healing act. According to a recent study on expressive writing and patients with cancer, some individuals may benefit from participating in expressive writing as part of their supportive cancer treatment. The writing act can be a form of healing for patients struggling with their cancer diagnoses.
Although it’s one of the less visible commissions, the President’s Cancer Panel monitors the activities of the National Cancer Program and reports on the burden of cancer. The panel reviews a number of topics and keeps current with demographic information and the latest cancer incidence research. After reviewing and recommending based on existing data, the panel releases a formal report to the president. In its most recent report, the panel found serious issues with barriers to access for cancer survivors, and it addressed the costs of drugs and the value therein.
Focusing on a patient’s quality of life is often a key component to their successful cancer journey. Treating their disease is crucial, but patients have to be recognized as individuals with unique and varying needs. Addressing their emotional, physical, spiritual, and psychosocial stressors can help provide holistic treatment that’s at the heart of successful oncology care.
An estimated 14.4 million Medicare recipients were prescribed some form of opioid treatment in 2016, paid for by their Medicare benefits. In an attempt to help curb the national opioid epidemic, officials from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that Medicare would no longer pay for long-term, high-dose prescription pain medication. Unsurprisingly, the plan received flak from patient and provider advocacy groups alike.
Genetic testing is becoming more recognized among the general public, due in part to news reports and celebrity endorsements. Now, people are seeking to understand cancer risks and prevention measures through genetic information. There are many companies that ask for a mere mouth swab and deliver insight into a person’s DNA. As this becomes more commonplace, those with familial predisposition to cancer will look for ways to understand their own genetic results. Recently, the U.S.
In a new message, the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Aging (NIA) division introduced a public health campaign concentrating on smoking cessation for senior citizens. The program elaborates on a central theme that says, “No matter your age, quitting smoking improves your health.” The agency lists the benefits of cessation, including the critical health impact that diseases have on those who continue to use tobacco.
The cost of cancer care and the quality of patient services has always been a top priority in health care. However, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Innovation Center has been working to strengthen both elements of care. CMS, through its Oncology Care Model (OCM) division, works with cancer care providers to develop payment strategies and performance categories in treatment plans for patients with cancer.