Lung cancer treatment is in flux, with new immunotherapy agents and targeted therapies emerging.
Rosemarie A. Tucci,
MSN, RN, AOCN®
June 16, 2018
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Lung Cancer: What Nurse Navigators Need to Know in 2018
As nurses working in the oncology field, we should always be aware that change is inevitable. Whether it is a change in patient status, treatment changes, new innovations, or how the diagnosis is made and acted upon — change is constant and continuous. There have been many recent changes in lung cancer and the management of patients with these diagnoses, including updated early detection possibilities and changes in diagnostic procedures, reporting, and treatment options.
There is no known lung cancer prevention. Not smoking, getting exercise, and proper nutrition are all excellent ways to a healthy life style. But we all also know patients who have done all of that, had no family history of lung cancer, and still developed the disease. With that in mind, the focus now is really on early detection through high-risk lung screening programs with/without separate lung nodule follow up programming. In some areas of the country, lung screening and nodule programs dovetail and in others ― especially in areas where numbers of incidentally found nodules exist ― there are separate programs to follow these patients. Either way, it is important to utilize the existing national standards for patient follow up.
The following article features coverage from the 2018 Oncology Nurse Advisor Navigation Summit. Click here to read more news highlights and expert perspective from the Summit on Oncology Nurse Advisor.