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“One of the big misconceptions is that this is just a quick shot. And this is a patient’s treatment regimen. So, it is not just a quick shot. It is treatment, and we need to get it where it is supposed to go so that the patient’s, cancer treatment is not impacted,” Caroline Clark, MSN, APRN, OCN®, AG-CNS, EBP-C, director of evidence-based practice and inquiry at ONS, told Jaime Weimer, MSN, RN, AGCNS-BS, AOCNS®, manager of oncology nursing practice at ONS, during a conversation about administering intramuscular (IM) injections in oncology.

“A lot of the efforts have been made to improve the patient experience for these treatments, as they can be given for years at a time. For example, when leuprolide debuted way back in 1985, it was a daily injection. But four years later, they developed the monthly depo formulation. Now we have formulations that are approved for administration once only every three, four, and even six months,” Andrew Ruplin, PharmD, clinical oncology pharmacist at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, WA, told Jaime Weimer, MSN, RN, AGCNS-BS, AOCNS®, manager of oncology nursing practice at ONS, during a conversation about the luteinizing hormone–releasing hormone (LHRH) antagonist and agonist drug classes.

“In my role as an associate editor, I truly felt like I was bringing the voices of nurses who were new to oncology or new to writing forward. I was able to provide a venue for those oncology nurses who also wanted to bring forward some of the cool quality improvement projects that they were working on. I was really happy to share that knowledge through this role, so that all the other institutions can learn and maybe implement some of those solutions,” Megha Shah, DNP, FNP, OCN®, charge nurse at Northwestern Medicine Cancer Center Delnor in Geneva, IL, told Jaime Weimer, MSN, RN, AGCNS-BS, AOCNS®, manager of oncology nursing practice at ONS, during about her experience volunteering as a peer reviewer and associate editor for the Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing (CJON).

“One of the things that I know Dr. [Tom] Connor worked on very heavily in his career is the long-term impact on the health of nurses and other exposed healthcare workers. We definitely need more longitudinal studies, which are difficult to do. And it’s not something that you see every day where I talk to chemo nurses and said, ‘Hey, I’ve been in this 20 years. It hasn't bothered me at all.’ Well, until it does. Therefore, it’s so important when we’re training incoming nurses—how very important it is to start with these practices early in the career and throughout the career,” Charlotte A. Smith, RPh, MS, senior regulatory advisor at Waste Management PharmEcology Services in Milwaukee, WI, told Lenise Taylor, MN, RN, AOCNS®, BMTCN®, oncology clinical specialist at ONS, during a conversation about hazardous drug and waste disposal.

“Chemotherapy exposure during the first trimester is contraindicated and increases the risk of spontaneous abortion, fetal death, and major congenital malformations. Second- and third-trimester exposure may affect some body systems still developing and can still result in fetal growth restriction, low birth weight, and preterm labor. Yet, you want to stress that pregnancy can remain a possibility,” Kelsey Miller, MSN, RN, AGCNS-BC, OCN®, clinical nurse specialist in oncology and infusion therapy at Reading Hospital in West Reading, PA, told Jaime Weimer, MSN, RN, AGCNS-BS, AOCNS®, manager of oncology nursing practice at ONS, during a conversation about policies and procedures for pregnancy testing during cancer treatment.

“For people diagnosed with cancer that are of childbearing potential, we have to consider how [pregnancy] testing could impact them. So we never know what someone has been through, and it’s important to lead with empathy while providing education of the importance of this testing. So someone may find now that pregnancy testing is a dreaded experience instead of what they thought would be a joyous one,” Marissa Fors, LCSW, OSW-C, CCM, director of specialized programs at CancerCare in New York, told Jaime Weimer, MSN, RN, AGCNS-BS, AOCNS®, manager of oncology nursing practice at ONS, during a conversation about the psychosocial aspects of pregnancy testing in cancer care.

“The things that I think creep up are things that unfortunately are quite common, and that’s hot flashes. I’ve had patients say that those are just overwhelming, and they want to go off therapy because of it. So I think talking about pharmacologic management, as well as lifestyle management, of hot flashes, are equally as important,” Rowena “Moe” Schwartz, PharmD, BCOP, FHOPA, professor of pharmacy practice at James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio, told Jaime Weimer, MSN, RN, AGCNS-BS, AOCNS®, manager of oncology nursing practice at ONS, during a conversation about androgen receptor inhibitor and antiandrogen drug classes.

“The prescribing information is really a reliable data-driven and comprehensively reviewed tool. That’s not just for healthcare providers when writing a prescription, but also, for example, it is a tool that can be used to generate educational content for healthcare systems as they update formularies and create drug information,” Elizabeth Everhart, MSN, RN, ACNP, associate director for labeling at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in Silver Spring, MD, told Jaime Weimer, MSN, RN, AGCNS-BS, AOCNS®, manager of oncology nursing practice at ONS, during a conversation about drug package inserts and labeling.

“At the beginning, like when you first meet someone before they’ve even started anything, kind of get a baseline of ‘What’s your ability to complete your daily activities? How is your coordination? How’s your speech now? How is your writing ability?’ up front before we start anything that could be toxic. And then prior to every treatment, I tend to look at their gait, watch them walk in or walk out of the office, to see if they’re changing at all,” Colleen Erb, MSN, CRNP, ACNP-BC, AOCNP®, hematology and oncology nurse practitioner at Jefferson Health Asplundh Cancer Pavilion in Willow Grove, PA, told Lenise Taylor, MN, RN, AOCNS®, BMTCN®, oncology clinical specialist at ONS, during a conversation about central nervous system toxicity.

“When we’re talking about the role of nurses in addressing these challenges, they play a critical role because of when they actually get to see patients. And so, if we can help with early identification and assessment, really finding out, using financial screening tools to identify any patients that might be at risk, early on, of financial toxicity, that can really allow for timely interventions,” Sarah Paul, LCSW, OSW-C, senior director of social work at CancerCare in New York, NY, told Lenise Taylor, MN, RN, AOCNS®, BMTCN®, oncology clinical specialist at ONS, during a conversation about financial toxicity in adolescent and young adult cancer survivors.