Elisa Becze
Five-Minute In-Service
Strategies for Breaking Bad News to Patients With Cancer
Telling a patient bad news is never easy. Whether sharing information about an initial cancer diagnosis, disease recurrence, evidence of metastatic disease, or a move to hospice care, the healthcare team needs to be sure patients are prepared for the news and understand what it means for them.
Five-Minute In-Service
Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use in Cancer Survivors
According to statistics, 38% of U.S. adults use some type of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), and the number is likely higher for those with serious illnesses such as cancer. CAM can be used for a variety of reasons, including pain management, disease treatment, and even head colds. Learn what this means for nurses caring for patients with cancer.
Five-Minute In-Service
Diagnose, Assess, and Manage Infusion Reactions
Infusion reactions can occur in patients during IV administration of any systemic cancer treatment. Oncology nurses are in a key position to identify and treat infusion reactions. In her article in the April 2010 issue of the Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, Vogel discussed what oncology nurses need to know about the diagnosis, assessment, and management of both types of infusion reactions.
Five-Minute In-Service
Manage Diarrhea and Skin Effects From Lapatinib
When taxanes, anthracyclines, and trastuzumab have failed to treat HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer, lapatinib (Tykerb®/Tyverb®, GlaxoSmithKline) may have some success. EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors such as lapatinib are associated with a variety of new side effects that are not seen with other types of cancer treatments. In their article in the April 2010 issue of the Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, Frankel and Palmieri looked specifically at diarrhea and skin effects associated with lapatinib use and offer recommendations for nursing intervention and management.
Five-Minute In-Service
Defining the Role of the Clinical Research Nurse
The Children’s Oncology Group (COG) recognizes the value that nurses add to the research process, including identifying issues during protocol development; translating protocols to other nurses, patients, and families; and providing optimal care to children on clinical trials throughout all phases of cancer. However, until now, the specific contributions of COG clinical research nurses had not been defined.
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