AONN+ Conference Abstracts

Patients with advanced neuroendocrine tumors may develop carcinoid syndrome, a rare condition characterized by debilitating symptoms, including diarrhea, flushing, and valvular heart damage, that can greatly affect patient social and physical functioning.

Exercise is a multipurpose tool that can be used to help cancer survivors improve their quality of life (QOL) across the cancer continuum.

Sarah Cannon Cancer Institute, the Oncology Service line for Medical City Healthcare in the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas area, has a team of 13 disease-suite oncology nurse navigators and 2 survivorship navigators.

The authors present their findings from a study testing the effects of an early intervention by the Breast Cancer Navigator on distress.

Frank Riessman’s Helper Theory (1965) posits that peer support networks can be powerful tools to extend care delivery—benefiting both the giver and receiver of informal care.

Research has consistently found that caregivers for people with cancer report distress; however, it is not clear whether recent improvements in the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) have reduced caregiver burden.

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) 2013 report recommends that supportive oncology care start at cancer diagnosis; the Commission on Cancer (CoC) Standard 3.2 requires distress screening and indicated action.

The burden of cancer has largely focused on the patient. However, caregivers also experience considerable burden.

Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) is a supportive therapy that is currently underutilized in the outpatient oncology setting.

Since the inception of the oncology nurse navigator (ONN) program at Memorial Hermann Hospital System (MHHS) in 2009, the role of the ONN was vastly misunderstood, and the overall potential benefits for the hospital and patient were undefined.