With this newsletter the governance group of the SIOG Nursing & Allied Health (NAH) Interest Group would like to inform you of what’s going on in the field of geriatric oncology related to nursing and allied health.
This newsletter appears 4 times each year and includes some general information, a special topics section, and a column to meet and greet (new) members and highlight their work and research. A short report on past events relevant for nurses and allied health professionals is also included. An overview of upcoming events is linked to the SIOG website.
As always, you can contact the SIOG NAH Interest Group leadership with your ideas and contributions for the newsletter or for more information by sending an email through the Head Office.

Enjoy this October issue!

We are happy to announce new activities and initiatives coming up for the Nursing & Allied Health (NAH) community. Our third SIOG NAH webinar will be held on October 30 2019 and the fourth SIOG NAH webinar will be held on January 23 2020. More information can be found in this newsletter (see SIOG NAH events). A report of the previous SIOG NAH Forum of September 2019 is added in this newsletter. We look forward to meet you all on our SIOG Annual Conference in Geneva!

SAVE THE DATE: Wednesday, October 30, at 12:00 -1:00 pm Eastern Time.

Speakers
Rana Jin, RN, MSN, CON(C), Clinical Nurse Specialist, Geriatric Oncology Program, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre
Allison Loucks RN, MN, CON(C), Clinical Nurse Specialist, Geriatric Oncology Program, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre

Oncology teams have limited knowledge of the aging and cancer interface, leaving the needs of older adults often unmet, leading to poor health outcomes.  Multidimensional screening and assessment is key to identifying and addressing concerns. Comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) process can address the needs of older adults through the process of screening, assessment, implementation of interventions, and reassessment. <More>

Written by Lore Decoster, Medical Oncology, UZ Brussel, Belgium

Summary of Phd defense on September 5 2019

As the world’s population ages, all physicians treating cancer are confronted with an increasing number of older patients, resulting in difficult and complex treatment decisions.1 Chronological age is a poor indicator of a patient’s physical and functional status and should not guide treatment decisions. Biological age is a better marker since it reflects the cumulative effects of medical and psychosocial stressors on the aging process.  In the absence of easily measurable or precise biomarkers of aging, the performance of a comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) is considered the gold standard for evaluating older adults in geriatric medicine.2 <More>

Every year, the Oncology Nursing Society recognizes and celebrates the outstanding contributions nurses make in the field of oncology through excellence in patient-centered treatment, research, and cancer care. As times change, so too does nursing practice. Nurses constantly adapt and evolve to provide the best possible care for their patients, and ONS must evolve to meet their needs—every step of the way.

Excellence in Care of the Older Adult With Cancer Award
Honors an oncology nurse who demonstrates age-sensitive health interventions, quality care, and symptom management to older adult patients with cancer.

2019: Cassandra Vonnes, SIOG member: CONGRATULATIONS!!!

- Falls research – online survey

Written by Schroder Sattar RN PhD & Kristen Haase RN PhD,
College of Nursing, University of Saskatchewan

We have recently launched an online survey to explore oncology clinic nurses’ perception regarding routine fall assessment and fall screening in older patients.  And below are findings from our preliminary analysis...<More>

Then following points were discussed during the last SIOG NAH forum.

1. Update of different meetings at SIOG Annual Conference
2. Points submitted by Heike Schmidt (Germany)
3. Joint paper on functional status with Young SIOG – SIOG NAH
4. SIOG NAH newsletters / webinars

<More information>

List of publications related to the care for older persons with cancer by SIOG Nursing and Allied Health members (June-September 2019):

List of publications:

1. Abbema DV, Vissers P, Vos-Geelen J, Lemmens V, Janssen-Heijnen M, Tjan-Heijnen V. Trends in Overall Survival and Treatment Patterns in Two Large Population-Based Cohorts of Patients with Breast and Colorectal Cancer. Cancers (Basel). 2019;11(9).
2. Asare M, Fakhoury C, Thompson N, Culakova E, Kleckner AS, Adunlin G, et al. The Patient-Provider Relationship: Predictors of black/African American Cancer Patients' Perceived Quality of Care and Health Outcomes. Health Commun. 2019:1-6.
3. Ashing KT, George M. Exploring the efficacy of a paraprofessional delivered telephonic psychoeducational intervention on emotional well-being in African American breast cancer survivors. Support Care Cancer. 2019.<More>

Report written by Rana Jin and Allison Loucks.

The Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC) and the International Society of Oral Oncology (ISOO) held their annual meeting on supportive care in cancer in San Francisco from June 21st-23rd 2019.   This year, the four main topics for the conference were digital health, sexual health, treatment toxicities, and cancer survivorship. There were 983 delegates representing 53 countries. The meeting featured three plenary sessions, three meet-the-expert sessions, four workshops, five joint sessions, and 20 parallel sessions. The program app included abstracts and e-posters, and they have continued to increase social media presence through Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. <More>

An overview of future SIOG and other events is published on the SIOG website.

You can find all issues of the SIOG NAH newsletter online and on our Facebook page (SIOG Nursing & Allied Health Interest Group).