ONCOLOGY Nurse Edition Vol 25 No 4

The availability of a wide variety of treatments for multiple myeloma allows healthcare providers to tailor treatments to individual patient needs, and has enabled prolonged survival of patients with the disease.

Denosumab is an IgG2 monoclonal antibody that inhibits osteoclastic bone resorption (breakdown) via inhibition of RANKL (receptor activator of nuclear factor-kB ligand).

The recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report carrying good news about cancer sur­vivorship is an urgent “heads up” for all of us in cancer care. The report states that between the years 1971 and 2001, the number of cancer survivors increased by more than three-fold (from 3 million to nearly 10 million).

Multiple myeloma (myeloma) is a highly treatable disease, but it remains incurable in the majority of cases. It is a heterogeneous disease with variability in its clinical presentation, treatment options, and prognosis.

Ginseng is an herb from the genus Panax of the Araliaceae family that is an important part of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). It is termed an “adaptogen,” as it is believed to have properties that help to restore balance to the body and protect the body from physiologic stress.

Cognition is a highly sophisticated, multifactorial, interrelated set of neurologic functions responsible for attention, perception, memory, learning, language, and thinking.

Hypersensitivity/infusion reactions can be caused by monoclonal antibodies and chemotherapeutic agents. Immediate interventions are often required.