Articles
Patients with rectal cancer who use a combination of chemotherapy (capecitabine) with 5 weeks of radiation (50 Gy) prior to surgery may have an 88% chance of surviving the cancer 3 years after treatment, according to results presented at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology held October 2-6, 2011, in Miami Beach, Florida.
Read More ›Although cancer patients who undergo radiation therapy frequently have acute and chronic skin reactions, there are no hard and fast guidelines on management of radiation-induced skin reactions or the best products to use. Each center or practice should develop its own clinical guide about how patients should manage skin reactions and which products are recommended for patient use, said Maureen McQuestion, RN, Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Read More ›
Many malignancies currently have oral medication options for cancer therapy. Read More ›
The Cleveland Clinic was founded in 1921 in Cleveland, Ohio, by 4 physicians. At that time, it was one of only a few group practices in the United States. This group practice model was very familiar to 3 of the founders—George Crile Sr, Frank Bunts, William Lower—as they served together in military hospitals near the front lines of World War I. These 3 colleagues were determined to establish a not-for-profit clinic that combined the best of military and civilian medical practices. Read More ›
Promising data on several new breast cancer agents, including one new cytotoxic, were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Breast Cancer Symposium 2011 held September 8-10 in San Francisco, California.
The addition of the novel histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor entinostat to exemestane significantly delayed recurrences and showed a trend for a survival benefit in the phase 2 ENCORE 301 (ENtinostat Combinations Overcoming REsistance) study reported by Denise Yardley, MD, of Sarah Cannon Research Institute and Tennessee Oncology in Nashville.
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A higher dose of radiation (74 Gy) does not improve overall survival for non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that has spread to the lymph nodes compared with the standard radiation dose (60 Gy), according to a new study presented at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology.
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Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) are a group of closely related hematologic malignancies that arise from abnormal development and function of the body’s bone marrow cells. Primary myelofibrosis (PMF), polycythemia vera (PV), and essential thrombocythemia (ET) comprise the Philadelphia chromosome (Ph)-negative MPNs.1 Myelofibrosis (MF) can arise on its own, which is called PMF, or it can result from the progression of other MPNs, such as postpolycythemia vera MF (PPV-MF) and postessential throm bocythemia MF (PET-MF).1
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Dr Hansen provided a comprehensive review of the challenges patients face when diagnosed with cancer. She illustrated that while improved survival is a welcome benefit to many of today’s cancer patients, psychological, social, and emotional struggles exist. Several considerations come to mind, such as where does one obtain information regarding care? Does the patient- provider relationship affect treatment, and what is the role of the oncology nurse (ON) in the care of cancer patients? Read More ›
The article by Dr Hansen provides a great overview of the challenges facing patients from initial diagnosis of cancer through survivorship. Patients typically are diagnosed with cancer suddenly in the midst of living their lives. The various stressors in life that exist prior to diagnosis can be further exacerbated after diagnosis. As oncology providers, in addition to having knowledge of the options to treat a patient’s cancer, we need to make sure we understand the patient as a whole— both the patient and the person.
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The diagnosis of cancer is arguably one of the most emotionally exhausting and potentially psychologically debilitating medical conditions we may experience during our lifetime. However, the impact of this diagnosis is not limited to the patient and frequently resonates among family members, friends, and caregivers as well. When the impact of cancer on the human condition is combined with the knowledge that healthcare practitioners are frequently unable to detect psychological distress in this patient population, the effects can be profound.1
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