By 2035, it’s expected that 22 million new cancer cases will be diagnosed annually around the world. The global burden of cancer care and treatment is something that affects all nations and cultures. Through collaboration, understanding, and a dedication to forging new relationships, oncology professionals from around the world are coming together to fight for their patients and colleagues on February 4, 2017, for World Cancer Day.

After more than 40 years as an oncology educator, researcher, and nurse, ONS member Karen Meneses, PhD, RN, FAAN, has been named the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s (UAB’s) 2016 Distinguished Faculty Lecturer. This is the highest honor given at the university, and Meneses is only the second nurse from UAB’s school of nursing to ever receive the honor.

More than ever before, oncology nurses are required to provide multifaceted care when it comes to managing patients with cancer. As the population of patients with cancer continues to age and cancer becomes more of a chronic condition, oncology nurses are seeing more patients who exhibit comorbidities during their cancer journey.

Access devices have been used for decades to administer the complex treatments and supportive care that oncology nurses deliver daily to patients with cancer. As these devices and other products evolve, nurses need evidence-based methodologies for critiquing their safety and effectiveness.

The ONS clinical inbox frequently receives questions about whether nurses need to be “chemotherapy certified” to give specific chemotherapy and/or biotherapy agents.

One of the questions that ONS commonly receives in the clinical inbox is whether nurses who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or trying to conceive can safely administer or handle chemotherapy and other hazardous drugs.

The financial burden associated with cancer treatment is reaching new heights. In the heat of making decisions, patients and their families may drastically deplete their finances to reap the advantage a new drug may offer.