Articles & White Papers

Oncology Patient Navigator–Certified Generalist: Learning Guides are Here!

The Academy of Oncology Nurse & Patient Navigators (AONN+) is pleased to introduce the Oncology Patient Navigator–Certified Generalist (OPN-CG) credential. This credential is important for anyone who provides cancer navigation services and is not a nurse. For nurses, AONN+ is providing the Oncology Nurse Navigator – Certified Generalist credential (ONN-CG).

Cancer Costs Continue After Cancer Treatment Ends

As navigators you are well aware of the financial burden a diagnosis of cancer can have on a patient and his or her family. Deductibles, copayments, missed time from work, and uncovered ancillary care by their insurance company all add up to huge out-of-pocket costs. Did you know that cancer costs continue for years even as a cancer survivor?

Community Outreach and Prevention

In 1990, Harold P. Freeman, MD, noticed that African American women in the Harlem community had a higher incidence of breast cancer mortality.

Novice Navigator: A Case Study on Community Outreach for Head and Neck Cancers

The authors present a case demonstrating the unique and complex challenges facing patients with head and neck cancers, public health interventions to reduce risk, and available screening to promote early detection.

Seasoned Navigator: A Case Study on Community Outreach and Prevention for Lung Cancer Screening

Along the continuum of cancer care for many patient populations, navigators play an essential role in community outreach and prevention. To be effective, navigators must have core knowledge of the early signs of cancer, and the current screening guidelines, as well as the available community and state resources for screening and diagnostics.

Women Make Healthcare Decisions for Their Families

It is a fact that in most households the woman makes the decisions regarding healthcare for her loved ones. This includes nudging her husband to get his blood pressure checked, or taking the children to the pediatrician to get their vaccines and other medical care.

Disseminating Information to Colleagues and Management Post Our Sixth Annual AONN+ Conference

We had a great conference! Each year it gets better and better— the content more enriched, the number of attendees steadily growing, and the ability to take home to your cancer facilities the valuable information you learned. It is important to dissect the key teaching points and share them with others.

Responding to Patient Questions About Survival Statistics

This happens nearly every day, doesn’t it? A newly diagnosed patient with cancer wants to know the odds of living through and beyond his or her cancer treatment. It doesn’t matter if we tell patients that we hope they live a long time and not to focus on stats; they focus on them anyway. But when it comes to statistics, there are some important facts for nurse navigators to consider.

Incorporating Financial Counselors into the Multidisciplinary Oncology Treatment Team

Cancer care is the most costly medical expense people face in the United States. Historically, insurance companies covered the majority of cancer treatment expenses; however, that is now changing. More financial burden is and will be placed on the patient, making it more challenging than ever to receive the appropriate care one needs to rid them of their disease.

Turn a Survivorship Care Plan into a Survivorship LIFE Plan

Although the requirements to provide a cancer survivor a treatment summary and survivorship care plan have been in place for several years, with 2015 being the required timeframe for officially demonstrating that these medical records are being provided, most institutions are still not ready.