April 12, 2023

by Dr. Diane Von Ah

On February 2, 2022, the Biden administration held a news conference to reignite the “Cancer Moonshot,” with a call to action to End Cancer as We Know It. Specifically, the new national goals were two-fold: “to reduce the death rate from cancer by at least 50 percent over the next 25 years and improve the experience of people and their families living with and surviving cancer – and, by doing this and more, end cancer as we know it today.” Furthermore, this initiative seeks to support patients, caregivers and survivors with the understanding that “we do not do enough to help people and families navigate cancer and its aftermath. We can help people overcome the medical, financial and emotional burdens that cancer brings by providing support to navigate cancer diagnosis, treatment and survivorship.”

This has resulted in the new National Cancer Plan that was just released last week, on April 3. This plan ambitiously provides a framework to guide and coordinate a national response to achieve these goals. Within this report, it is clear that improving the lives of cancer survivors through developing evidence-based quality care is paramount.

I firmly believe that nurses are in a prime position to help achieve these goals. A Gallup poll in January reinforced what has been the case for more than 20 years: that nursing is seen by most Americans as the most ethical profession. With this foundation, nurses can use their knowledge, skills and abilities to effectively convey the needs of cancer survivors and their families to legislatures, regulatory bodies and insurers. As expert clinicians, researchers and scientists, nurses are well-suited to identify and implement evidence-based quality care for cancer survivors.

At The Ohio State University College of Nursing, we have a cadre of nurses that are on the front lines, providing and directing patient care in our clinics and communities. Our expert nurse clinicians, scientists and researchers are discovering new ways to address the needs of cancer survivors. I am honored to help lead a recently-funded R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute (NIH/NCI) that focuses on cognitive concerns of cancer survivors, a common and potentially debilitating symptom for cancer survivors. The ultimate goal of this research is to improve the lives of cancer survivors by identifying effective interventions that will ultimately guide clinicians in providing evidence-based quality care.

Nurses cannot afford to sit on the sidelines in this work to conquer cancer; they must be engaged in synthesizing and communicating the evidence to implement into practice. As a member of the editorial board of the NIH/NCI Palliative and Supportive Care Physician Description Questionnaire, I work with dedicated national experts to focus on providing comprehensive, research-backed and up-to-date information to healthcare providers regarding the long-term sequela of treatment. The NIH/NCI’s publicly available PDQ cancer information summaries were identified in the National Cancer Plan as just one of the many ways in which NCI is focused on improving care of and for cancer survivors.

Every advancement, every new piece of information and every new approach to care is one small step for us, one giant leap for the effort to end cancer as we know it.

Diane Von Ah, PhD, RN, FAAN is distinguished professor of cancer research and director of cancer research at The Ohio State University College of Nursing. She is also co-director of the Cancer Survivorship Program at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center through the Wexner Medical Center’s James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute.

September 25, 2020

COLUMBUS, OH — The National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute (NIH/NCI) has awarded an additional two-year R03 grant to accompany a five-year K08 career development grant to Principal Investigator Timiya S. Nolan, PhD, APRN-CNP, ANP-BC, assistant professor in the College of Nursing’s Martha S. Pitzer Center for Women, Children and Youth and her team. The K08 study is entitled “Piloting Y-AMBIENT: A Quality of Life Intervention for Young African AmericaTimiya S. Nolan Headshotn Breast Cancer Survivors in Treatment." The additional R03 is targeted at survivors who have completed treatment. 

Other collaborators specifically on the R03 include Barbara Andersen, PhD from the College of Arts and Sciences (Psychology) and Alai Tan, PhD, and Karen Patricia Williams, PhD, from the College of Nursing.

The K08 grant builds an independent program of research that identifies contextual factors of quality of life (QOL) among young (18-44) breast cancer survivors from underrepresented minority groups. In the extension of the K08, the R03 will support a study aimed at evaluating processes and preliminary outcomes of a targeted QOL intervention compared to an attention control intervention in young African American (AA) cancer survivors who are receiving treatment for early (I-II) and late (III) stage breast cancer.

In the R03 study, Nolan and her team will recruit and randomize 40 young AA breast cancer survivors who have completed primary breast cancer treatment to an intervention group. This population is targeted given their general report of poorer QOL and more negative social determinants of health (e.g., low socioeconomic status, limited access to care, discrimination) than young White survivors.

The team will triangulate qualitative and quantitative responses from each participant to identify perceptions of the study’s feasibility and acceptability, chiefly measured by willingness to participate and the use of self-management strategies prescribed in the interventions. The team will also examine health-related outcomes (i.e., QOL, spiritual well-being, self-efficacy and social support) within and between intervention groups.

Upon completion of the study, the team will look to perform a larger, randomized controlled trial to determine efficacy and translate its findings to inform the development, implementation and dissemination/translation of multi-level QOL interventions and policy changes.

“We at The Ohio State University believe that everyone deserves their best chance at living and living well,” said Nolan. “Specifically, the R03 is aimed at women who have exited the high-touch period during treatment to test an intervention as a strategy to self-manage life after cancer diagnosis and treatment. Ultimately the two studies [K08 and R03] are seeking to identify ways in which we can help cancer survivors attain wellness across the cancer continuum.”

May 30, 2012

Usha Menon, PhD, RN, FAAN, vice dean and professor at The Ohio State University College of Nursing, and Linda Larkey, PhD, professor at the Arizona State University College of Nursing and Health Innovation, have received a five-year, multi-site grant by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study the dissemination of colorectal cancer screening education to underserved populations. Menon and Larkey, co-principal investigators, will conduct the study in collaboration with Laura Szalacha, EdD, research associate professor at the Ohio State College of Nursing and co-investigator.

 

The NIH grant, entitled “Navigation from Community to Clinic to promote CRC Screening in Underserved Populations,” focused on the need for regular screenings to facilitate the early diagnosis of colorectal cancer (CRC), the second leading cause of cancer death, and contribute to the reduction of CRC morbidity and mortality rates. A recent trend to increase CRC screening test utilization is not mirrored in poor and minority populations. 

 

Colorectal cancer almost always develops from precancerous polyps, or abnormal growths, in the colon or rectum. Screening tests can find precancerous polyps so they can be removed before they turn into cancer. Screening tests can also find colorectal cancer early, when treatment works best. 

 

In order to implement effective interventions targeting the underserved, the research team will merge and incorporate successful intervention strategies already tested by Menon and Larkey, including a tailored CRC screening education intervention in primary-care clinics. The team will also conduct a pilot study with underinsured or low-income participants to determine if those navigated from the community setting into clinics receive higher rates of screening compared to those not receiving navigation. The purpose of this study is to test the effectiveness of a two-phase intervention using “community-to-clinic navigators” to guide individuals from an especially hard-to-reach, multicultural and underinsured population into primary-care clinics and then to track the effects of intervention CRC screenings completed in clinics.

 

The proposed study meets several national health priorities, including the emphasis of NCI on reducing cancer-related disparities and the continued need to increase cost-effective CRC screenings to realize the full benefits of early detection.