Congress Abstracts 2006

105

RAISING AWARENESS OF THE NON HODGKIN'S LYMPHOMA FOR ONCOLOGY NURSES: A LYMPHOMA IS NOT A LYMPHOMA. HAVE WE MADE ANY PROGRESS IN 30 YEARS? Deborah Rust, RN, MSN, CRNP, AOCN^®, Genentech, South San Francisco, CA; and Beth Warnick, RN, MSN, CRNP, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA.

The rationale for raising awareness of the number one hematological malignancy, Non Hodgkin Lymphomas (NHL) for oncology nurse is critical. The natural history of the two major types of NHL: Indolent and Aggressive are diversely different. Oncology nurse are at the forefront in providing detailed disease education to their patients. Without specific knowledge of the disease course, one over 35 lymphomas is placed in a generic category. Educational opportunities to increase knowledge of this disease state, resources and educational information are needed to expand knowledge to maintain competency. They also have to share their knowledge in order to promote quality healthcare and improve clinical outcomes.

This abstract was designed to serve as a mechanism to increase knowledge of the classification system, diagnostic evaluation and new prognostic indices of most common and complex hematologic malignancy.

Classification, staging, prognostic factors, and natural history of NHL must be appreciated by the nursing staff to build a solid foundation for patient education that ultimately impacts quality of life of a chronic disease versus and potentially curable one.

The benefits of heighten awareness of classification and prognostic factors have a crucial impact upon outcomes by more fully understanding the importance of response to treatment. This translates into to factors to consider when assessing patients tolerance to treatment and the importance of on time treatment schedules.

This complex information is well documented in the literature and we believe that oncology nurses play crucial role in disease management. As oncology nurse are challenged to keep up with the explosion of information through practice, education and understanding the research, nurses can help to bring the disease state information and evidence to their practice and patients.