Clinical journal of oncology nursing
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Somatostatin analogs (SSAs) are a mainstay therapy for the treatment of carcinoid syndrome associated with neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). They are effective for a range of gastroenteropancreatic NETs (GEP-NETs). Lanreotide depot (Somatuline®) is an SSA that is approved for the treatment of GEP-NETs to improve progression-free survival (PFS). ⋯ Lanreotide depot prolongs PFS and is well tolerated by patients who expressed satisfaction in the ability to control symptoms related to carcinoid syndrome. Nurses cited several benefits to using lanreotide depot in the clinical setting, including more time saved to address other patient care issues. Attributes of lanreotide depot-including its efficacy, safety and tolerability, dosing and administration, and cost-may contribute to healthcare decisions regarding the treatment and management of NETs.
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Oncology nurses have increased exposure to the prolonged illness, tragedy, loss, and premature death of patients. As a result, they are at higher risk for developing compassion fatigue. ⋯ The findings of this study demonstrated no significant relationships between the intervention and control groups on secondary traumatic stress, compassion satisfaction, and burnout among oncology nurses.
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Using Relaxation and Guided Imagery to Address Pain, Fatigue, and Sleep Disturbances: A Pilot Study.
Few studies have been conducted on the use of patient-controlled relaxation and guided imagery interventions for the symptom cluster of pain, fatigue, and sleep disturbance during cancer treatment. ⋯ Patients reported a high degree of satisfaction with the relaxation and guided imagery interventions. Patients in the relaxation and guided imagery or combined groups showed a trend toward improvement in fatigue and sleep disturbance scores. Pain remained a problem for the majority of patients. Difficulties in recruiting participants resulted in an insufficient sample size for generalizable findings. With hospital environments tending to be noisy, relaxation and guided imagery may facilitate rest and sleep for hospitalized patients. An examination of individual scores showed a trend toward improvement in sleep quality.
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Palliative care services provided alongside traditional oncology care have been shown to be beneficial to patients and families. This article provides a brief history of palliative care, a pathway to implementing these services into currently established oncology programs, and a brief discussion of common barriers.
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When Vice President Joe Biden's son, Beau, died of a brain tumor in May 2015, the Vice President's grief was profound. Yet, his grief generated an idea, a big idea: Let's collaborate and focus the talent and resources in our country to eliminate cancer as we know it. ⋯ The goal is to double progress against cancer and break down silos that prevent science and industry from working together. The initiative centers around the development and implementation of new vaccine-based immunotherapies to target individual tumors based on their genomic signature.