Onc Nurse on Call

In this episode of The Vitals , Oncology Nursing News® spoke with Linda Bloom, MPA, RN, OCN, about strategies to improve communication among patients with limited English proficiency who are admitted to surgical oncology. Bloom, who is a clinical nurse IV at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, presented on this topic during the 48th Annual Oncology Nursing Society Meeting, and the findings hav...

In this episode of The Vitals , Oncology Nursing News® spoke with Leana Cabrera Chien, MSN, RN, GCNS-BC, GNP-BC, and William Dale, MD, PhD. The pair discuss the value of geriatric assessments in optimizing cancer care for older adults, especially considering the recent update to the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) guidelines , stating that all patients with cancer who are older than 6...

In this episode of The Vitals , Oncology Nursing News ® spoke with Jacki Garcia, RN, BSN, CNRN; and Kristin Hendrickson, BA, RN, to discuss phase 0 trials, also known as window-of-opportunity trials, in neuro-oncology.   Phase 0 trials are designed to identify new drugs capable of slowing tumor progression in patients who face poor prognoses. Patients who enroll in a phase 0 trial receive a subthe...

In this episode of The Vitals , Clint Koerkenmeier, MHS, BSN, RN, joins Oncology Nursing News® to discuss retention strategies at his institution.   Koerkenmeier is associate nursing officer at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, which is a National Cancer Institute–designated cancer center which recently received its 4th Magnet Recognition. It was also named as a best place to work by the Americ...

For this episode of The Vitals, Oncology Nursing News ® talks with Lauren Mahon, MSN, FNP-BC, about the role of PARP inhibitors in the treatment of ovarian cancers. Mahon, a family nurse practitioner specializing in gynecologic oncology at the University of Rochester, recently presented on this class of therapeutics during the 48th Annual Oncology Nursing Society Congress.  Onsite at the Congress,...

In this episode of The Vitals, Seth Eisenberg, ASN, RN, OCN, BMTCN, discusses ongoing research efforts to quantify the value of toilet seat covers in oncology care settings.  As Eisenberg explains, health care professionals who care for patients with cancer are at an increased risk of developing health issues because of their chronic exposure to the hazardous drugs. Specifically, the bathroom repr...

On this episode of The Vitals , Oncology Nursing News® talks with Amber Pierce RN, BSN, OCN, regional nurse manager at Oncology Hematology Associates, an American Oncology Network partner practice, about the importance of 2-step verification with nivolumab and relatlimab-rmbw (Opdualag), which was approved for patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma in March 2022. The FDA approval was su...

In this episode of The Vitals, Krista M. Rubin, RN, MS, FNP-BC, joins Oncology Nursing News® to discuss best nursing practices with tebentafusp-tebn (Kimmtrak) for patients with unresectable or metastatic uveal melanoma. Rubin is a nurse practitioner with the Center for Melanoma at Massachusetts General Hospital, with over 20 years of experience caring for patients with melanoma. She is also the c...

In this episode of The Vitals , Beth Faiman, PhD, CNP, weighs in on the current trajectory of research and clinical practice in multiple myeloma.  Faiman is a nurse practitioner and researcher with the Cleveland Clinic, as well as a board member of the NP/PA Center of Excellence in Multiple Myeloma. According to her, one of the biggest changes of late was the publication of a study in Lancet Disco...

In this episode of The Vitals , Lindsay Diamond, MSN, AGNP-C, AOCNP, spoke on updated data from the CheckMate 274 trial (NCT02632409), which were presented during the 2023 ASCO Genitourinary Cancers Symposium (ASCO GU), and commented on different trials paving the way in urothelial carcinoma.  According to Diamond, who is a nurse practitioner and clinical program manager of the GU Oncology Clinica...

It takes a special skillset for nurses to care for patients whose disease continues to relapse after multiple lines of therapy, shares Stephanie Jackson, DNP, MSN, RN, AOCNS, BMTCN. “I tell my younger staff who aren’t used to seeing patients this sick, ‘even if that patient doesn’t survive, what an honor for us to be a part of their journey,’” she tells Oncology Nursing News ®. For this episode of...

Data presented during the 2023 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium have accentuated the amount of ongoing research across many of these hard-to-treat gastrointestinal malignancies, according to Terri Pollack, DNP, APRN, FNP-C, PMHNP-BC. Specifically, data surrounding the utility of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) should be exciting for RNs and nurse practitioners alike, as it allows providers and pat...

In this episode of The Vitals , Nilesh Kalariya, PhD, AGPCNP-BC, AOCNP; and Laura J. Zitella, MS, RN, ACNP-BC, AOCN, discuss data from the 64th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition that have the greatest potential to change oncology nursing practice.  Kalariya, a nurse practitioner with the Department of Lymphoma/Myeloma at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center,...

In this episode of The Vitals , we interview 2 nurse practitioners about their key takeaways from the 2022 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS).  “As time goes [on], we learn more,” says Loyda Braithwaite, MSN, RN, AGPCNP-BC, AOCN. Specifically, as more safety data with fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (Enerhtu) comes to light, providers are getting a better idea of how to anticipate and han...

In this special episode of “The Vitals,” we ring in the New Year by combing through 2022 FDA approvals. Listen as associate editor, Lindsay Fischer, recounts key approvals on a month-by-month basis, with input from some of the investigators from behind the research. To read the full information surrounding the approvals, be sure to check out our news coverage below. Other resources can also be fou...

Complementary therapies, such as acupuncture, can deliver significant benefits when used in combination with standard therapies, according to Heather Jackson, PhD, FNP-BC, NEA-BC, FAANP. In this episode of The Vitals , Jackson, who is administrative director of advanced practice at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Vanderbilt Ingram Cancer Center, discusses how complementary acupuncture helped...

For this episode of The Vitals, Oncology Nursing News® speaks with Aliènne Salleroli, MS, BSN, RN, OCN, an assistant patient services manager at Yale-New Haven Health Smilow Cancer Hospital, and cochair of the Yale New Haven Hospital Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Nursing Task Force. Earlier this year, Salleroli presented research on how racial diversity within oncology nursing is not enough to...

In this episode of The Vitals , Ellen Miller, MSN, FNP-BC, a nurse practitioner with Vanderbilt University’s Radiation Oncology Survivorship Clinic, shares her experience with a 26-year-old woman who wanted to get pregnant after undergoing chemoradiation for stage II extranodal natural killer T-cell lymphoma of the nasal cavity as a teenager. Miller underscores why some patients may not choose or...

For this episode of The Vitals, Oncology Nursing News® spoke with Jeannette Meyer, MSN, RN, CCRN-K, CCNS, PCCN-K, ACHPN, a palliative care clinical nurse specialist with UCLA Health about the value of advance directives for vulnerable populations. Meyer highlights her personal experience working with unhoused populations near and around Los Angeles, California. Meyer works with programs including...

For this episode of The Vitals, Oncology Nursing News® spoke with Daniel J. Verina, DNP, RN, MSN, ACNP-BC, of the Myeloma Team with Mount Sinai Medical Center, about optimal strategies for adverse event management for patients receiving selinexor (Xpovio). Verina recently presented on adverse event management for novel multiple myeloma therapies as part of the International Myeloma Society’s 6th A...

For this episode of The Vitals , Oncology Nursing News ® spoke with Milagros Elia, MA, APRN, ANP-BC, about the role that oncology nurses play in increasing dialogue around climate change. Elia recently presented on climate change as part of the 2022 Oncology Nursing Society Bridge. In this episode, she discusses how increases in heat and poor air quality can negatively affect vulnerable population...

For this episode of The Vitals , Oncology Nursing News ® spoke with Christine Miaskowski, PhD, RN , professor in the Department of Physiological Nursing and Anesthesia at UCSF School of Nursing. Miaskowski discusses results from research which showcases an increased risk of hearing loss among patients who received platinum- or taxane-based cancer treatments. She also discusses the importance of in...

In this episode of The Vitals , a panel of oncology nurses and nurse practitioners with backgrounds in gastric and breast cancer unpack adverse event (AE) management with anti-body drug conjugates (ADCs).  Sarah Donahue, MPH, NP, AOCNP, of the University of California San Francisco Health recently moderated a discussion with Jamie Carroll, APRN, CNP, MSN, of the Mayo Clinical in Rochester Minnesot...

For this episode of The Vitals, Oncology Nursing News® met with Stephanie Jackson, DNP, MSN, RN, AOCNP, BMTCN, to discuss key takeaways from her recent presentation at the 6th Annual School of Nursing Oncology™ Meeting . Jackson, who is a certified oncology and bone marrow transplant clinical nurse specialist and unit director at UCLA Medical Center, presented on advances in the treatment of leuke...

For this episode of The Vitals , Oncology Nursing News ® met with Sarah Donahue, MPH, NP, a nurse practitioner at the University of California San Francisco Health, to discuss findings from the findings of DESTINY-Breast04 trial (NCT03734029). DESTINY-Breast04 , a phase 3, open-label pivotal trial, randomly assigned patients with unresectable or metastatic HER2-low breast cancer to receive the fam...