November 2018 Vol 9, NO 11

Whether it is completing a marathon or taking a cruise to celebrate a 50th wedding anniversary, life goals are essential for optimal health and well-being.

Patients diagnosed with cancer and going through treatment often experience significant changes to their appearance and consequently struggle with their body image.

The Hoag Family Cancer Institute (HFCI) provides robust services including diagnosis-specific oncology nurse navigation (ONN), social workers, chaplains, support groups, dietitians, and other programmatic features for patients and families.

A diagnosis of breast cancer (BC) impacts the entire family, especially the male partner of the patient.

A breast cancer diagnosis and recommended treatment produces high levels of anxiety in patients.

Recently, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) published practice guidelines advocating that all cancer patients be asked about sexual concerns during treatment planning and follow-up.

Oncology navigation spans the continuum of cancer care, from prevention through end-of-life care.

The advent of oral chemotherapy agents has changed the treatment plan for many oncology patients.

Breast cancer is the number one cancer diagnosis in Nigerian women; 100,000 new cases are diagnosed annually.

To integrate advanced nursing knowledge on how to prevent and treat job stress for nurses by analyzing, developing, implementing, and evaluating an education program on awareness and prevention related to job stress.

A navigator’s interventions with a patient throughout treatment include disease-specific education packet, referrals to specialists, resources and supportive care team members, providing timely appointments, presentation at Breast Tumor Board, chemotherapy education, and performing a treatment summary.

An inpatient oncology unit had consistently low patient satisfaction ratings regarding patient education.

Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) is the only public hospital in Kenya delivering comprehensive cancer care and receives patients from throughout the country.

Genetic testing has become an important component to determining treatment options.

Early recognition of malnutrition and preoperative nutritional status is paramount in improving surgical outcomes.

The specialized field of patient navigation (PN) is evolving into an essential role in the oncology patient care continuum.

According to the American Cancer Society Facts & Figures 2018, lung cancer is the leading cause of death in men and women in the United States.

Oncology navigation is a patient-focused, time-intensive process.

Blood and marrow transplant (BMT) patients encounter many barriers while accessing curative treatment.

Patient acuity tools have been used to classify patients according to care needs to serve a variety of purposes.

Patient navigation has been shown to improve patient engagement and enrollment in clinical trials and increase supportive cancer care.

Employee engagement is a key element of success among businesses and organizations.

Offering patients access to oncology navigation is not only recommended, it is also a requirement for certification of oncology programs endorsed by 2 national organizations.

The orientation/onboarding process is neither standardized nor well understood across the oncology navigation industry.

There is extensive literature in change and transition management in leadership but limited literature from a non-managerial or navigator’s point of view.

“Care of the cancer survivor should include prevention, surveillance, assessment of late effects and intervention for consequences of cancer and treatment.”

Advance care planning (ACP) is central to patient-centered care and improves alignment between patient preferences and care received at end-of-life.

A recent needs assessment for Camden County, NJ, shows that residents’ compliance with cancer screening recommendations for colon (65%), breast (73%), and cervical (74%) cancers does not meet Healthy People 2020 guidelines.

Palliative care is a collaborative approach that improves quality of life for patients and families but is often provided too late.

The Academy of Oncology Nurse & Patient Navigators (AONN+) promotes the goal to share best practices for survivorship and to address the question “Does the Survivorship Care Plan (SCP) meet patient goals?” (Staci Oertle, RN, MSN, APN, AOCNP, AONN+ Survivorship Committee).