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Written by Jimmie C. Holland, MD, and Sheldon Lewis, this book focuses on the "human effects" as opposed to the

AUSTIN, Texas-Although the nursing profession supports patient empowerment and self-determination in health care decision-making, patient requests for assisted dying raise difficult issues. A study reported at the Oncology Nursing Society’s 26th Annual Conference explored the symptom management strategies that some nurses use to either counter or preempt patient requests for help in dying.

WASHINGTON-Colorectal cancer patients with unresectable liver metastases responded better to a regimen of regional and systemic chemotherapy plus cytoreduction than to cytoreduction alone, said David Litvak, MD, of the John Wayne Cancer Institute, Santa Monica, and Century City Hospital, Los Angeles.

SAN DIEGO-Lead aprons, radiation badges, and patient laundry are not the normal concerns of nurses. But as new radioimmunotherapy agents are evaluated and introduced into practice, nurses will need to familiarize themselves with radiation safety precautions, said Patricia A. Kramer, RN, MSN, a San Francisco-based oncology nurse educator and consultant. Patient education and instruction throughout the whole process is key.

STONY BROOK, NY-The new Long Island Cancer Center at Stony Brook University is welcoming the community into a partnership in cancer research, John S. Kovach, MD, founding director of the Center, told ONI in an interview.

WASHINGTON-Witnesses at the first-ever Congressional hearing on hematologic cancers urged Congress to act on the recommendations of the Leukemia-Lymphoma-Myeloma Progress Review Group (LLM-PRG). This group, composed of more than 180 researchers, clinicians, patient advocates, industry representatives, and government officials, released its report last May.

BUFFALO, NY-A pain intensity assessment program undertaken at Roswell Park Cancer Institute has been successful in increasing staff assessment of pain and in promoting optimal pain management. Reporting at a poster session at the Oncology Nursing Society’s 26th Annual Congress, Jacqueline L. Massey, RN, MS, assistant director of nursing, described the development of the Center’s comprehensive program, known as the Fifth Vital Sign.

BUFFALO, NY-Former Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) faculty member J. Craig Venter, PhD, founder and president of Celera Genomics, returned to the Buffalo-based comprehensive cancer center to present the Institute’s Cori Lecture (see box).

If he needed more encouragement than the California verdict, Sen.Wyden (D-Ore) got it a week later when the National

Researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center/Nebraska Health System (UNMC/NHS) are investigating one of

PORTLAND, Oregon -Aerobic exercise may be more effective than resistance exercise in reducing cancer-related fatigue among patients taking catabolic steroids, according to a study presented at the Oncology Nursing Society’s 26th Annual Congress, held in San Diego.

SAN DIEGO-Susan A. Newton, RN, MS, AOCN, is an independent consultant based in Dayton, Ohio, who travels throughout Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky teaching patients and colleagues, regionally and nationally, about cancer-related fatigue and pain management.

SAN FRANCISCO-A highly sensitive photon sensor has shown promise as a means of detecting early, subtle responses to neoadjuvant therapy among patients with soft tissue sarcomas, investigators from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute reported at the 37th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

SAN DIEGO, California-The Workflow Information Systems for European Nursing Care (WISECARE) program is using information technology to foster knowledge sharing and to promote evidence-based nursing care among 15 European cancer centers.

At Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, nurses are recruiting newly diagnosed cancer patients into a smoking cessation program. At Marshfield Clinic Cancer Care, Marshfield, Wisconsin, nurses are teaching phlebotomists how to do venous access device (VAD) blood draws. And at St. Joseph Medical Center, Towson, Maryland, nurses have made depression assessment part of standard oncology care.

Cancer patients are at high riskof potentially fatal blood clots

SAN FRANCISCO-In a phase II trial, recombinant human keratinocyte growth factor (rHuKGF, or KGF) significantly reduced severe mucositis and improved quality of life for patients with hematologic malignancies who underwent autologous peripheral blood progenitor cell transplantation.

WASHINGTON-With a Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) visit looming, nurses at George Washington University Hospital used the opportunity to implement a staff education program to improve pain assessment and management.

In the United States, tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death. Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS)

The incidence of invasive aspergillosis is increasing parallel to the intensity of immunosuppressive and myelosuppressive anticancer treatments. Successful management is linked to an understanding of the

The incidence of invasive aspergillosis is increasing parallel to the intensity of immunosuppressive and myelosuppressive anticancer treatments. Successful management is linked to an understanding of the

Myeloproliferative disorders originate in the clonal expansion of a transformed pluripotential hematopoietic progenitor cell. This results in a group of syndromes that include polycythemia vera, essential thrombocythemia,

The incidence of invasive aspergillosis is increasing parallel to the intensity of immunosuppressive and myelosuppressive anticancer treatments. Successful management is linked to an understanding of the

SAN DIEGO, California-A symposium at the Oncology Nursing Society’s 26th Annual Congress addressed the challenges of managing cancer-related cognitive impairment, fatigue, and pain. Each of three speakers gave an overview of one of these problems, including contributing factors and current research, and then discussed new approaches to symptom management.

WASHINGTON-The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plans to review potential new endpoints for use in approving cancer drugs. The decision-making process will include public discussions involving practicing oncologists, academic physicians, the pharmaceutical industry, and advocacy groups.

SAN FRANCISCO-Most cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy expect to be cured, even when cautioned by their physicians that the chemotherapy can only relieve symptoms, according to Geetha N. Varma, MD. Research conducted at three cancer clinics in the metropolitan Milwaukee area showed that patients and physicians agree on the goal of treatment less than half the time and that almost a quarter of patients do not have a realistic idea of the likelihood of achieving the goal.

SAN FRANCISCO-In patients with potentially resectable cancer of the larynx, concurrent chemoradiotherapy cuts in half the incidence of larynx removal vs radiation therapy alone-and vs the current standard of care of induction chemotherapy followed by radiation therapy, Arlene A. Forastiere, MD, reported at the 37th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

Clinical Radiation Oncology, edited by Drs. Gunderson and Tepper, is a first-edition textbook designed primarily for those

SAN FRANCISCO-A new morphine formulation that combines immediate-release and extended-release beads offers a once-daily alternative to the controlled-release morphine formulation MS Contin (MSC). A study compared the new product, once-daily Morphelan (morphine sulfate, rapid onset extended relief [MROER]), a convenient and effective option for pain management, with twice-daily MSC.

ROCKVILLE, Md-To comply with a mandate in the Children’s Health Act of 2000, the FDA has issued an interim rule implementing additional requirements to safeguard children enrolled in clinical trials. "A key aspect of the new rule sets standards and procedures for assuring that children have assented to participating in clinical trials (when possible), and that their parents or guardians are able to give fully informed consent to the child’s participation in a study," the agency said in a statement.