San Francisco, CA—An increasing number of biosimilars have been approved in the United States, but many clinicians are still poorly informed about what constitutes a biosimilar, and what is involved in their unique pathway to approval, said Andrew D. Zelenetz, MD, PhD, Medical Oncologist, Division of Hematologic Malignancies, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York City. He discussed this topic at the NCCN 2019 Hematologic Malignancies meeting.
Orlando, FL—Today’s patient with cancer is concerned with more than just cell counts. These patients want to discuss topics such as parenting, financial toxicity, and sex and intimacy, according to Laura Holmes Haddad, author of This Is Cancer, and a cancer survivor.
“You’re supposed to celebrate your survival and get on with your life, but that’s also when the bills come due. So it becomes that much harder to ask for help,” said Ms Watson.
According to D. Kathryn Tierney, PhD, RN, cancer survivors, patients, and their providers are not talking about the incidence of sexual dysfunction, which can have a negative impact on cancer survivors’ quality of life as well as their intimate partners.
Compassion is defined as a feeling of deep sorrow for another’s pain, accompanied by an equally powerful desire to lessen or remove their suffering, be it mental, physical, or emotional. The difference between empathy and compassion is action.
At the 2018 Cancer Survivorship Symposium, Margaret Rosenzweig, PhD, CRNP-C, AOCN, FAAN, explains how initial training in survivorship care is lacking for nurse practitioners, and how she and her colleagues developed a web-based training program to address this issue.
At the 2018 Cancer Survivorship Symposium, Cathy J. Bradley, PhD, MPA, discusses the topic of cancer survivors returning to the workforce, and the multitude of barriers these individuals face when returning to work.
“Compared to those not enrolled in clinical trials, the evidence shows that the minority patients participating in clinical trials had increased overall survival,” said Khilen B. Patel, MD, at the 2018 Society of Gynecologic Oncology Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer.
Because of the growing prevalence of cancer survivorship, the financial burden of cancer is becoming increasingly overwhelming for patients not only immediately after a cancer diagnosis, but often many years after treatment, said K. Robin Yabroff, PhD, MBA, of the American Cancer Society.
According to findings from a national representative sample presented at the 2018 Cancer Survivorship Symposium, fear of cancer recurrence is prevalent among cancer survivors, but may only be experienced by a minority of patients.
To effectively address socioeconomic disparities in healthcare, it is critical that we improve our understanding of the material, psychosocial, and behavioral dimensions of financial well-being, said Reginald D. Tucker-Seeley, MA, ScM, ScD, at the 2017 AACR Science of Cancer Health Disparities Conference.
Advocacy usually begins with personal crisis and the need for support, but it eventually moves on to sharing experiences and information with others, speaking out in public forums, and working to influence change, suggested Musa Mayer, breast cancer survivor and advocate, at the recent ESMO International Consensus Conference for Advanced Breast Cancer in Lisbon, Portugal.
“There’s a human behind the patient, and he can tell us what he needs. He’s really the expert in the field,” Christine B. Boers-Doets, MSc, Netherlands Leiden University Medical Center, told attendees at the recent ESMO International Consensus Conference for Advanced Breast Cancer.
AONN+ is the largest national specialty organization dedicated to improving patient care and quality of life by defining, enhancing, and promoting the role of oncology nurse and patient navigators. This particular meeting was all about metrics.
Chicago, IL—The anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) mutation is a target for tyrosine kinase therapies in several cancers, including non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Since 2011, several ALK inhibitors have been approved, and more are in the pipeline, but many questions remain for managing patients with ALK-positive NSCLC.
Chicago, IL—Maintaining a clean room compliant with US Pharmacopeial Convention Chapter 800 (USP 800) can come with a significant price tag, but noncompliance can drive up costs to oncology practices and institutions. However, certain measures can contribute to the successful construction, renovation, and maintenance of hazardous drug sterile compounding spaces in an oncology setting, according to Ryan A. Forrey, PharmD, MS, FASHP, Director of Pharmacy, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, GA.
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