From the Editor

The January issue of The Oncology Nurse-APN/PA (TON) is full of important news and updates for oncology nurses. In this edition, we feature a profile of the Novant Health Derrick L. Davis Cancer Center, Winston-Salem, NC, where Novant Health Oncology Specialists provide world-class cancer care in collaboration with the Maya Angelou Women’s Health & Wellness Cancer Center. In addition to offering comprehensive patient care, the specialists associated with this cancer center treat common and complex cancers, and provide a wealth of resources and services for patients and their families.

We also feature key presentations from recent national meetings, including the Academy of Oncology Nurse & Patient Navigators (AONN+) Seventh Annual Navigation & Survivorship Conference, the 58th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO), and the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress.

The AONN+ Annual Conference, which was held in Las Vegas, NV, was deemed a huge success after it garnered more than 1000 oncology nurse and patient navigators from across the United States and Canada.

“Talking to other navigators is invaluable. You find out what’s working and what’s not working for them at their practices, and you can take those ideas back to your home base,” explained Sharon Gentry, RN, MSN, AOCN, CBCN, of the AONN+ Leadership Council, when describing networking as one of the biggest benefits of participating in the conference.

At the ASTRO annual meeting, Matthew A. Manning, MD, Radiation Oncologist, Cone Health Cancer Center, Greensboro, NC, presented important findings from the Accountability for Cancer Care through Undoing Racism and Equity trial, one of the first prospective trials to address racial disparities in access to care. Results from this study showed that it is possible to improve access to potentially curative care for African-American patients so that they are on a level playing field with white patients.

Results from a study presented at the ESMO Congress suggest that measuring the Ki67 protein, along with traditional risk factors, such as tumor size and molecular characteristics, may make it possible to avoid sentinel node biopsy in women aged >50 years with breast cancer.

This issue also includes articles on symptom management that address a variety of topics, such as the effects that cognition and depression have on adherence to anticancer drugs in elderly patients, and the potential for prophylactic probiotics to prevent radiation enteropathy.

Finally, we feature key presentations from the 2016 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology, including results of a trial showing that the type of catheter used to administer medications and to draw blood makes a difference with regard to causing blood clots in children, and findings that underscore the importance of monitoring for cardiovascular events in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

As always, we hope you will enjoy this issue of TON and look forward to receiving your feedback. You can contact us via e-mail at info@TheOncologyNurse.com.