Meaningful communication involves more than just words traded between people. By asking open-ended questions, affirming a person’s strengths, offering reflections, and providing a summary of the conversation, you can engage others in meaningful conversation.
On April 3, 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval to enfortumab vedotin-ejfv (Padcev®) with pembrolizumab (Keytruda®) for patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma who are ineligible for cisplatin-containing chemotherapy.
Taking into consideration the history of HIV/AIDS and upholding COVID-19–related guidelines, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposed adjusting blood donor eligibility from time-based deferrals to assessing donor eligibility using gender-inclusive, individual risk-based questions to reduce the risk of transfusion-transmitted HIV.
Opioids are the recommended treatment of choice for cancer pain at the end of life according to all major guidelines, but Black and Hispanic patients are 13% and 11% less likely than their White counterparts, respectively, to obtain prescription opioids for cancer-related pain at the end of life, researchers reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Deanna Fournier, a cancer survivor, and Eli Diamond, MD, a neuro-oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, NY, discussed Fournier’s cancer journey and the progress toward a better patient experience during a National Cancer Institute Office of Cancer Survivorship lecture. Communicating with patients throughout their cancer journey can help healthcare providers, including oncology nurses, support patients and advocate for their unique needs.
Advance care planning (ACP) is an integral part of treatment planning that supports patients at any age or stage of health in understanding and sharing their personal values, life goals, and preferences regarding future medical care. ACP is individualized to each patient’s unique circumstances, with more support and specific decision-making provided as the planning progresses. It’s particularly important for patients with cancer, but communication challenges can delay ACP initiation.
Almost 22 years after the September 11, 2001, atacks, the World Trade Center Health Program has added all types of uterine cancer to its list of WTC-related health conditions. The WTC Health Program assists patients with treatment costs for uterine cancers that meet WTC-related health condition eligibility and certification requirements.
As I reflect on my year as ONS president from 2022–2023, my heart is filled with gratitude for the ONS Board of Directors members, staff, and members at large who contribute to the greater whole of what we know as ONS. Our organization is thriving thanks to teamwork at all levels. Ronald Reagan once quoted a sign he looked at daily that says, “There is no limit to what we can do or where we can go if we don’t mind who gets the credit.” Likewise, it’s truly a collective team that makes things happen in ONS.
They weren’t joking around when they said laughter is the best medicine! Laughter is a great form of stress relief and promotes your well-being, including your mental health.
Adding carboplatin to standard neoadjuvant chemotherapy for patients with triple-negative breast cancer improves complete response, event-free survival, and overall survival, researchers reported in study findings presented in abstract GS5-01 during the 2022 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.