To describe smoking and obesity prevalence among male and female cancer survivors in the United States.
The findings highlight the variation in smoking status and weight by age and gender. Smoking interventions may need to be targeted to address barriers specific to subgroups of cancer survivors.


To ascertain individual experiences of extended bowel resection as treatment for colorectal cancer (CRC) in those with a high metachronous CRC risk, including the self-reported adequacy of information received at different time points of treatment and recovery.


To explore factors related to unplanned hospital admissions and determine if one or more factors are predictive of unplanned hospital admissions for older adults with cancer.
Findings suggest that the presence of impaired function and side effects, such as infection, fever, vomiting, and diarrhea, predict unplanned hospital admissions in older adults with cancer during the active treatment phase. Side effects may or may not be related to chemotherapy and may be related to preexisting comorbidities. 


To evaluate the effects of expressive writing (EW) interventions in patients with cancer. EW had significant small effects only on cancer symptoms. The findings suggest that the traditional EW intervention protocol may need to be intensified to confirm its effect on patients with cancer.


To investigate the relationships among life stress, family functioning, family coping, reliance on formal and informal resources, and decisional conflict in cancer survivors. The role of the family context, which includes family functioning and coping, on decisional conflict is important in the adjustment process to make high-quality decisions in cancer survivorship care.

To explore and describe the characteristics of the nurse practitioner (NP) role in cancer care in a Canadian province, identify the ways in which NPs add value to cancer care, and suggest ways in which organizations can better support the NP role. Lack of clarity about the NP role persists. Traditional professional hierarchies and expectations about care delivery continue to affect role implementation.


To assess nurses’ knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of caring for older adults and to use that assessment data to develop a training program to improve skills in caring for older adults with cancer. Knowledge about caring for older adults is needed for oncology nurses, and a geriatric education program for oncology nurses can result in improved knowledge in a variety of domains. Surveying staff highlighted the positive attitude of nurses toward caring for older adults at the study institution. The use of this survey identified key issues facing older adults and ways to improve care.


To explore variations in coping with moral distress among physicians and nurses in a university hospital oncology setting. Moral distress is a challenging phenomenon in oncology. However, when managed well, it can lead to more introspection and team reflection, resulting in a better interpersonal understanding.

To describe the experience of women with estrogen receptor–positive breast cancer who are initiating oral adjuvant therapy and to determine what they describe as facilitating and/or hindering this experience. Each participant who was initiating oral adjuvant treatment described many unmet needs. Women who were caregivers, were older aged, had several chronic illnesses, and were on several medications reported more difficulty transitioning to oral adjuvant therapy.

To examine family caregivers’ experience of mental fatigue, identify strategies they use to manage it, and ascertain the kind of help they would like from healthcare professionals. The majority of caregivers experienced mental fatigue, which manifested as trouble concentrating, difficulty remembering things, and irritability. The majority worked outside of the home and had health problems of their own.


To examine the experiences of compassion fatigue, burnout, and compassion satisfaction among oncology nurses in the United States and Canada. Healthy and supportive work environments are imperative to nurses’ health, well-being, and satisfaction. Improvements in the workplace can help prevent negative sequelae, as well as improve health outcomes for patients and nurses, decrease nurse turnover, and reduce healthcare expenditures. 


To measure the effect of clinical decision support (CDS) on oncology nurse evidence-based practice (EBP). EBP education increased nurse EBP documentation rates significantly but only temporarily. Nurses may have used evidence in practice but may not have documented their interventions.


A 65-year-old man presents to the emergency department with increasing back pain. His history includes hypertension, peripheral neuropathy, duodenal ulcer, superior mesenteric vein thrombus, stage IIB colon cancer treated with surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy, renal cell carcinoma treated with surgery, and prostate cancer treated with surgery and radiation. He is otherwise healthy. His family history is positive for colon cancer. Physical examination found significantly elevated blood pressure and a computed tomography scan of the thoracic and lumbar spine was performed, with findings of a type B aortic dissection extending from the aberrant right subclavian artery down to the abdominal aorta.


Mentoring is often thought of as a more experienced person sharing information, advice, knowledge, or training with a novice. A mentor might be engaged to assist a person to achieve a goal, complete a project, or facilitate a transition to a different role or an expanded level of responsibility. Mentoring can be formal or informal, short or long term, episodic or ongoing, planned or spontaneous. A mentor can be a volunteer or someone specifically hired or assigned and matched according to the competency required. A mentor may also be identified by the person seeking to be mentored.

If the Precision Medicine Initiative was the launching pad, the Cancer Moonshot Initiative is the liftoff. A billion-dollar mission to “eliminate cancer as we know it,” the Cancer Moonshot Initiative underscores the Precision Medicine Initiative’s near-term focus in oncology research and translation. Spearheaded by Vice President Biden, the goal is to condense a decade of research into actionable results within five years.

The primary purpose of this column is to focus on several common core concepts that are foundational to qualitative research. Discussion of these concepts is at an introductory level and is designed to raise awareness and understanding of several conceptual foundations that undergird qualitative research. Because of the variety of qualitative approaches, not all concepts are relevant to every design and tradition. However, foundational aspects were selected for highlighting.

Scientific and technologic advances in genomics have revolutionized genetic counseling and testing, targeted therapy, and cancer screening and prevention. Among younger women, African American and Hispanic women have a higher rate of cancers that are associated with hereditary cancer risk, such as triple-negative breast cancer, which is linked to poorer outcomes. Therefore, genetic testing is particularly important in diverse populations. Unfortunately, all races and ethnic groups are not well represented in current genetic testing practices, leading to disparities in cancer prevention and early detection.

Children and adolescents represent a small, but critically important, number of patients with cancer worldwide (14.1 million newly diagnosed adults versus 160,000 children annually). The life years saved when a child is cured of cancer are about 71 compared to 15 years for an adult in most high-income countries (HICs). In HICs, about 80% of children survive cancer. Unfortunately, in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), the survival rates are generally 50% or less. In these resource-limited settings, only 15%–37% of children and adolescents have access to cancer treatment, and most are diagnosed with advanced-stage disease, making cure impossible.