Novel therapies approved over the past decade for the management of multiple myeloma have contributed to improved overall survival in patients with newly diagnosed and relapsed disease. Nurses play a key role in educating, advocating for, and supporting patients throughout the continuum of care. Identifying potential and actual comorbid conditions associated directly with multiple myeloma and its treatment is important, as is confirming those that are patient specific so that prompt intervention can take place; therefore, the International Myeloma Foundation Nurse Leadership Board identified the most significant needs of patients diagnosed with multiple myeloma as bone health, health maintenance, mobility and safety, sexual dysfunction, and renal health. The Nurse Leadership Board then developed a survivorship care plan to assist healthcare providers and patients with multiple myeloma, their partners, and their caregivers to identify these needs.
References
Altekruse, S.F., Kosary, C.L., Krapcho, M., Neyman, N., Aminou, R., Waldron, W., … Edwards, B.K. (2009). Surveillance Epidemilogy and End Results. SEER cancer statistics review, 1975-2007. Retreived from
http://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2007
American Cancer Society. (2011). Cancer facts and figures, 2011. Washington, DC: Author.
Bertolotti, P., Bilotti, E., Colson, K., Curran, K., Doss, D., Faiman B., & The International Myeloma Foundation Nurse Leadership Board. (2008). Management of side effects of novel therapies for multiple myeloma: Consensus statements of the IMF Nurse Leadership Board. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, 12(3, Suppl.), 9-12.
Ganz, P.A., & Greendale, G.A. (2007). Female sexual desire—Beyond testosterone. Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 99, 659-661. doi:10.1093/jnci/djk175
Hewitt, M., Greenfield, S., & Stovall, E. (2006). From cancer patient to cancer survivor: Lost in transition. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
Kumar, S.K., Rajkumar, S.V., Dispenzieri, A., Lacy, M.Q., Hayman, S.R., Buadi, F.K., … Gertz, M.A. (2010). Improved survival in multiple myeloma and the impact of novel therapies. Blood, 111, 2516-2520. doi:10.1182/blood-2007-10-116129
Munshi, N.C., & Anderson, K.C. (2008). Plasma cell neoplasms. In V.T. DeVita Jr., T. Lawrence, & S.A. Rosenberg (Eds.), Cancer principles and practice of oncology (8th ed., pp. 2305-2342). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
Rajkumar, S.V. (2008). Treatment of myeloma: Cure versus control. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 83, 1142-1145. doi:10.4065/83.10.1142