Cancer Matters: September Edition
Total Health | Oncology
Advancing Care through Education | #1 Provider of Free Oncology Education
Dear Reader,
Welcome to our September Cancer Matters edition! As we move into the fall, we’re excited to bring you fresh insights and strategies to help you navigate this transformative season.
This month, we recognize Blood Cancer Awareness Month, highlighting a promising combination treatment for mantle cell lymphoma patients with TP53 mutations, a particularly challenging subset to treat.
In HEAL, Sami explores the growing population of blood cancer survivors and how tailored exercise regimens can improve their long-term quality of life after curative treatments like stem cell transplant.
Sharon’s INSPIRE tackles the inevitability of change, especially in this election year. Learn how to strengthen your resilience and adaptability as a leader, equipping yourself and your team to grow through challenges and setbacks.
Finally, Beth helps us GROW by providing a powerful phrase to support cancer care teams when delivering difficult news to patients. A simple shift in communication can transform even the toughest conversations. We hope this month’s edition leaves you inspired, informed, and ready to tackle the challenges ahead. Thank you for being part of our Cancer Matters community, and we wish you a productive and meaningful month!
Learn
Total Health plain language summaries feature a variety of topics presented by expert clinical faculty at our conferences throughout the year, and are designed to facilitate patient engagement and discussion with the cancer care team.
September is blood cancer awareness month, including both leukemias, and the non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas (NHLs). Mantle Cell Lymphoma, or MCL, is a subtype of NHL which can have an aggressive clinical course and a poor prognosis for patients. In addition, as many as 20% of patients with MCL may also have a mutation in the TP53 gene (mTP53) and these patients are more prone to early progression of their disease. Patients with mTP53 MCL are also considered more difficult to treat, because their response to the usual standard of care therapies for MCL is often poor.
This year’s Annual Meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) featured an abstract specifically focused on mTP53 MCL patients, and in this edition of Cancer Matters, we feature insights from Dr Craig Boddy, MD, from Hawai’i Pacific Health on the SYMPATICO trial, as reported in his presentation at our first ever ASCO Direct? conference in Honolulu, Hawaii. Results from SYMPATICO detail treatment outcomes in the largest population of mTP53 MCL patients examined to date, and suggest that a combination of 2 different types of MCL therapies offers encouraging efficacy in this more challenging subset of MCL patients.
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Inspire
Sharon Gill, Executive Coach
Welcome back to Coach’s Corner!
Last month, we discussed cultivating accountability and ownership in your team. This month, we shift our focus to two crucial traits for effective leadership: Resilience and adaptability. These two qualities are essential for navigating change, and driving success. In our fast-paced, technology-centric world, change is inevitable, coupled with environmental factors such as the current election year, cooling job markets, and the inherent threat of another pandemic.
As leaders, we must prepare ourselves and our teams to be adaptable and agile. Here are three quick actions you can take to best position yourself and your team for the inevitable changes that will come.
First, Lead Yourself. The first person you must lead is yourself, and I encourage leaders to conduct an honest self-assessment to evaluate your current leadership skills. By doing this, you may discover areas for improvement, such as communication, which is itself a cornerstone of effective leadership.
Foster a Growth Mindset. I encourage you to cultivate a team culture that views challenges as opportunities for learning and growth. Emphasize that setbacks are part of the journey that can lead to valuable insights and improvements.
Develop Strong Problem-Solving Skills. A third component is to equip your team with the tools and strategies to creatively and effectively tackle obstacles. By providing incentives and resources that reward adaptability and innovation you can encourage your team to become better and more proactive problem solvers.
领英推荐
Remember that resilient and adaptable leaders inspire their teams to confidently face challenges and thrive in times of change.
Join us again in our October's Coach’s Corner, as we explore strategies for driving team engagement and motivation, and get ready to thrive in any environment!
For more information on professional coaching, please visit www.sharongill.com
Heal
Sami Mansfield, Cancer Exercise and Wellness Expert
Cancer cachexia is a life-threatening condition for cancer patients, caused by the interaction between the body and the tumor, which leads to an inflammatory response. This condition is characterized by rapid weight loss, reduced appetite, declining physical strength, decreased effectiveness of treatment, and poorer survival. It affects almost 80% of patients with advanced cancer at some point during their treatment, and is responsible for 20% of cancer-related deaths.
The diagnosis of cachexia raises significant concerns about mortality among cancer care professionals. It can also cause treatment to be delayed or stopped. Although there are no pharmacological interventions for cachexia, researchers have explored an approach utilizing a combined lifestyle intervention for this condition. The approach addresses inflammation and weight loss using nutrition, physical activity, and an anti-inflammatory regimen.
The MENAC (Multimodal Exercise Nutrition Anti-inflammatory Cachexia) trial has comprehensively evaluated this approach in patients with lung and pancreatic cancer undergoing systemic anti-cancer treatment (SACT) with non-curative intent. The multimodal intervention included nutritional counseling, oral nutritional supplements containing fish oil, physical exercise (endurance and strength training), and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). The primary objective was to assess the difference in body weight change between the two groups. Secondary objectives included evaluating differences in muscle mass and physical activity.
The multimodal cachexia intervention stabilized weight in cancer patients compared to standard care over a six week period, and the two groups had no significant differences in physical activity or muscle mass. It’s important to consider that for patients with cachexia, a change in skeletal muscle mass is unlikely to improve within a short window of time, such as six weeks, but the results are nonetheless relevant, and should be recognized for the potential long-term impact on skeletal muscle and quality of life.
For clinical providers, the importance of a combined lifestyle intervention for all patients with the potential risk of cancer cachexia should be considered and utilized through education and referral opportunities when possible, both with internal and community providers. You can read more about the MENAC Study here .
And to learn more about how lifestyle interventions can enhance your clinical practice, join us at one of our free oncology educational events, which integrate exercise and nutritional insights into the program!
For additional resources, please visit www.cancerwellnessforlife.com ?
Wong, F. L., Francisco, L., Togawa, K., Bosworth, A., Gonzales, M., Hanby, C., Sabado, M., Grant, M., Forman, S. J., & Bhatia, S. (2010). Long-term recovery after hematopoietic cell transplantation: predictors of quality-of-life concerns. ?Blood,?115(12), 2508–2519. https://doi.org/10.1182/blood-2009-06-225631 ?
Hayley T. Dillon et al. ?Targeting exercise and sedentary behavior for the prevention of allogeneic stem cell transplant-related cardiovascular dysfunction: The ALLO-Active trial..?JCO?42,?12018-12018(2024). DOI:10.1200/JCO.2024.42.16_suppl.12018 ?
Mizrahi?D,?Lai?JKL,?Wareing? H, et al Effect of exercise interventions on hospital length of stay and admissions during cancer treatment: a systematic review and meta-analysis British Journal of Sports Medicine?2024;58:97-10
Grow
Beth Conway, Business Coach and Sales Trainer
Delivering difficult news, such as a new diagnosis to a patient, can be one of the most challenging aspects of healthcare. As a cancer care provider, you may need to do this many times throughout the day, but it’s important to understand that for a patient, this can be an overwhelming and frightening experience fraught with uncertainty. In these situations, it’s important to approach the conversation with compassion and empathy, asking directly how you can best support them during this time.
This simple question that I often use in my networking and professional interactions—"How can I support you?"—can open the door for a more personalized care approach. Whether they just need someone to listen, someone to accompany them to appointments, or whether they prefer texting over calls, a tailored approach for support and communication shows that you truly care. In addition, having a network of professionals to refer your patients to—from Reiki practitioners to medical companions—can ensure that they receive the comprehensive support they may need.
Taking the time to understand and meet the specific needs of your patients not only contributes to better overall outcomes but also enhances your credibility and strengthens your reputation as a compassionate and dedicated healthcare provider.
Feel free to reach out directly for additional tools and resources tailored to your specific needs. [email protected]
Orgs We Love to Love
As the leading source of free blood cancer information, education and support for patients, survivors, families and healthcare professionals, LLS helps patients navigate their cancer treatment and ensures they have access to quality, affordable and coordinated care. Research will help achieve an end to cancer. In the meantime, patients need help before, during and after their diagnosis and treatment. LLS is the leading nonprofit that does just that.
To learn more please visit lls.org
Executive Medical Director | Editor-in-Chief, AI in Precision Oncology | Founder, Tensor Black | American Cancer Society Board OH/KY | ACCC Exec Board | AI Consultant | Board Advisor | Keynote Speaker
2 个月Great stuff, every time Total Health | Oncology. Keep them coming. Love Sharon Gill's takes.
I work with CEOs and emerging leaders to enhance their leadership skills and their company culture | DISC Personality Trainer | Founder -Purpose Centered Leadership | Faith-Based Coach | Keynote Speaker
2 个月Another great edition from Total Health, filled with valuable and helpful insights??