Tag: Cancer Patients

New Research Shows Patients Receiving Cancer Treatment Understand Health Insurance Basics; Important Knowledge Gaps Remain

sarah JonasResearch Results

A new study by researchers at the American Cancer Society showed among patients receiving outpatient cancer treatment in two sites, most people could understand basic health insurance terms, such as premiums and deductibles.

Patients and Doctors Agree on Treatment Goals Only Half the Time, According to JNCCN Study on People with Neuroendocrine Tumors

sarah JonasResearch Results

New research in JNCCN finds that only 30% of patients with advanced neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) say their top goal for treatment is living longer. Only 51.7% of patients perceived that they had the same treatment goals as their physician.

Radiation-hormone therapy combination may slow growth of oligometastatic prostate cancer

sarah JonasResearch Results

A new study offers a new option to patients with oligometastatic prostate cancer who want relief from hormone therapy without compromising the risk of their disease spreading. In the study, patients who received radiation in addition to intermittent hormone therapy lived longer without their disease progressing, and they were able to take longer breaks from the drug treatments. Results of the phase II trial (EXTEND; NCT03599765) will be presented today at the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Annual Meeting.

AI model using daily step counts predicts unplanned hospitalizations during cancer therapy

sarah JonasResearch Results

An artificial intelligence (AI) model developed by researchers can predict the likelihood that a patient may have an unplanned hospitalization during their radiation treatments for cancer. The machine-learning model uses daily step counts as a proxy to monitor patients’ health as they go through cancer therapy, offering clinicians a real-time method to provide personalized care. Findings will be presented today at the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Annual Meeting.

Medical physicist consults with patients can help reduce anxiety and increase satisfaction with radiation care

sarah JonasResearch Results

Meeting with a medical physicist who can explain how radiation therapy is planned and delivered reduces patient anxiety and increases patient satisfaction throughout the treatment process, according to a new study published today in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics. Findings of the randomized, prospective phase III clinical trial also will be presented at the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Annual Meeting.

On World Mental Health Day, NCCN Announces Free Updated Distress Screening Tool, Available in More Than 70 Languages

sarah JonasAnnouncement

On World Mental Health Day, NCCN announced an updated NCCN Distress Thermometer, is available in more than 70 languages, to help people around the world identify and address psychosocial stressors that may raise challenges when coping with having cancer, its symptoms, or treatment.

There’s a Better Way to Detect High-Risk Medications in Older Adults with Cancer According to New Study in JNCCN

sarah JonasResearch Results

Gerontology researchers teamed up with hematologic-oncology investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to look at the association between older patients with blood cancers who were taking multiple medications and their corresponding frailty. They also created a new scale based on a list of Potentially Inappropriate Medications (PIMs) from the NCCN Guidelines® for Older Adult Oncology—called the Geriatric Oncology-Potentially Inappropriate Medications (GO-PIMs) Scale—and found it to be more effective at predicting frailty than conventional methods.

NCCN Policy Summit Speakers Say Flexibility in Supporting and Accommodating Cancer Patients and Caregivers Helps Workplaces Thrive

sarah JonasPolicy

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) convened an oncology policy summit in Washington D.C. on building a workplace that includes support for people with cancer and their caregivers. The program, which also featured a virtual attendance option, examined how workplace norms and expectations have changed in recent years, particularly since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Covid-19 accelerates cancer virtual care with quality, convenience and cost savings

sarah JonasResearch Results

Research led by Princess Margaret Radiation Oncologist Dr. Alejandro Berlin showed that virtual care can be implemented rapidly and safely across a highly-specialized and high-volume cancer centre. Eighty (80) per cent of patients reported they were either very satisfied or satisfied with it, citing convenience as a main factor, with 72 per cent of physicians reporting similar satisfaction with it.