The Oncology Nursing Podcast Oncology Nursing Society

“I think that as oncology nurses, we need to keep ourselves really educated and up to date with these new therapies, because I honestly feel like we still haven't really seen the long-term effects of this treatment,” ONS member Lisa Parks, MS, APRN-CNP, ANP-BC, nurse practitioner in hepatobiliary surgery at The James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center in Columbus, told Lenise Taylor, MN, RN, AOCNS®, BMTCN®, oncology clinical specialist at ONS, during a conversation about recognizing hepatic complications and understanding the basics of its symptom management strategies. This episode is part of a series on cancer symptom management basics; the others are linked below.  

You can earn free NCPD contact hours after listening to this episode and completing the evaluation linked below.  

Music Credit: “Fireflies and Stardust” by Kevin MacLeod 

Licensed under Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0 

Earn 0.5 NCPD contact hours of nursing continuing professional development (NCPD), which may be applied to the disease-related biology, treatment, or symptom management, palliative care, supportive care ILNA categories, by listening to the full recording and completing an evaluation at myoutcomes.ons.org by September 22, 2025. The planners and faculty for this episode have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose. ONS is accredited as a provider of NCPD by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.22, 2025. The planners and faculty for this episode have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose. ONS is accredited as a provider of NCPD by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. 

Learning outcome: The learner will report an increase in knowledge in cancer symptom management basics and hepatic complications.  

Episode Notes 

Complete this evaluation for free NCPD.  
Oncology Nursing Podcast: 


Episode 269: Cancer Symptom Management Basics: Gastrointestinal Complications 
Episode 256: Cancer Symptom Management Basics: Hematologic Complications 
Episode 250: Cancer Symptom Management Basics: Dermatologic Complications  
Episode 244: Cancer Symptom Management Basics: Cardiovascular Complications 

ONS Voice article: To Prevent Hepatotoxicity, Monitor Liver Function During Cancer Treatment 


Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing articles:  

Checkpoint Inhibitors: Common Immune-Related Adverse Events and Their Management 
Identification and Management: Sinusoidal Obstruction Syndrome/Veno-Occlusive Disease Related to Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation 
Use of Hepatic Artery Infusion Pumps in the Treatment of Hepatic Metastases 

ONS courses: 


ONS/ONCC Chemotherapy Immunotherapy Certificate Course 
ONS/ONCC Radiation Therapy Certificate Course 

ONS books: 

Cancer Basics (third edition)https://www.ons.org/books/cancer-basics-third-edition 
Chemotherapy and Immunotherapy Guidelines and Recommendations for Practice (second edition) 


Manual for Radiation Oncology Nursing Practice and Education (fifth edition) 
Clinical Guide to Antineoplastic Therapy: A Chemotherapy Handbook (fourth edition)  

American Gastroenterological Association 
American Gastroenterological Association Institute guideline on the prevention and treatment of hepatitis B virus reactivation during immunosuppressive drug therapy 

 


To discuss the information in this episode with other oncology nurses, visit the ONS Communities.  

To find resources for creating an ONS Podcast Club in your chapter or nursing community, visit the ONS Podcast Library. 

To provide feedback or otherwise reach ONS about the podcast, email pubONSVoice@ons.org 

 

“One of the things about futility is many people will say, ‘Oh this is futile care,’ when what they really mean is, ‘Who in their right mind would want this?’ or ‘I would never ever want this,’ and that's different. That's not futile care. That's potentially inappropriate care. And sometimes that’s the big step for folks,” Lucia D. Wocial, PhD, RN, FAAN, HEC-C, senior clinical ethicist in the John J. Lynch Center for Ethics at the MedStar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC, told Jaime Weimer, MSN, RN, AGCNS-BS, AOCNS®, manager of oncology nursing practice at ONS, during a discussion about futile care: how to recognize it, how to approach communication during difficult situations, and how to address a nurse’s associated ethical distress. 

You can earn free NCPD contact hours after listening to this episode and completing the evaluation linked below.  

Music Credit: “Fireflies and Stardust” by Kevin MacLeod 

Licensed under Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0 

Earn 1.0 NCPD contact hours of nursing continuing professional development (NCPD), which may be applied to the treatment care continuum, psychosocial dimensions of care, or quality of life ILNA category, by listening to the full recording and completing an evaluation at myoutcomes.ons.org by September 15, 2025. The planners and faculty for this episode have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose. ONS is accredited as a provider of NCPD by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. 

Learning outcome: The learner will report an increase in knowledge related to futility in care and how to speak up for patients and prevent ethical distress.  

Episode Notes 

Complete this evaluation for free NCPD.  
Wocial’s Moral Distress Thermometer for Nurses  


Oncology Nursing Podcast: 

Episode 222: Ethical and Moral Dilemmas of Futility in Cancer Care and Treatment 
Episode 78: Ethical Distress Impacts Nursing Practice 

ONS Voice articles: 

Moral Injury and Trauma in Nursing 


Four R’s and Resilience Approach Help Oncology Nurses Respond to Morally Distressing Challenges 
Sort Through Ethical Dilemmas in Medically Futile Care 
When Do You Stop Fighting? 

Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing articles: 

The Ethical Dilemma of Medical Futility: The Case of Mr. X 


Understanding the Moral Distress of Nurses Witnessing Medically Futile Care 
When Does Treatment in Cancer Care Become Futile? 

American Association of Critical Care Nurses moral distress resources 
American Nurses Association moral distress toolkit 
End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) 


 
To discuss the information in this episode with other oncology nurses, visit the ONS Communities.  

To find resources for creating an ONS Podcast Club in your chapter or nursing community, visit the ONS Podcast Library. 

To provide feedback or otherwise reach ONS about the podcast, email pubONSVoice@ons.org. 

Highlights From Today’s Episode 

“It’s a term that appeared in the literature back in the 1980s when it became clear that we had medical technology that could sustain people’s lives but not actually return them to a healthy state. And so, there was this attempt to try and identify and define when it was that the care we were providing, the treatments we were providing, could no longer work. And so, some people tried ‘qualitative futilities,’ some people tried ‘quantitative futility.’ People have been working on it for a long time, but the shortest definition is a treatment intervention that will not have its intended effect.” TS 1:52 

“And first of all, it says futility is a definition that should be used sparingly. There are lots of times when a treatment may be considered what we call ‘po

“Reassuring doesn’t always mean providing solutions. Sometimes, it’s providing support. There are some key tips that can be helpful for supporting patients when they’re ready, when they’re asking, ‘What about my kids?’ Like, what are the things when you leave this hospital that your kids are going to see, hear, or notice? That’s a great place to start,” Kelsey Mora, certified child life specialist, licensed clinical professional counselor, and chief clinical officer at Pickles Group, a national nonprofit organization that provides support and resources to children and teens whose parents have cancer, told Jaime Weimer, MSN, RN, AGCNS-BS, AOCNS®, manager of oncology nursing practice at ONS, during a discussion about how oncology nurses can support young families during a parent’s cancer journey. 
You can earn free NCPD contact hours after listening to this episode and completing the evaluation linked below.  
Music Credit: “Fireflies and Stardust” by Kevin MacLeod 
Licensed under Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0 
Earn 0.5 contact hours of nursing continuing professional development (NCPD), which may be applied to the care continuum, psychosocial dimensions of care, coordination of care, quality of life, and supportive care ILNA categories, by listening to the full recording and completing an evaluation at myoutcomes.ons.org by September 8, 2025. The planners and faculty for this episode have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose. ONS is accredited as a provider of NCPD by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. 
Learning outcome: The learner will report an increase in knowledge related to supporting young family members during a parent’s cancer journey. 
Episode Notes 
Complete this evaluation for free NCPD.  
Oncology Nursing Podcast Episode 9: How to Support Adolescent and Young Adult Patients With Cancer
ONS Voice articles 
Nurse-Created Apps Help Pediatric Patients Find Their Voice and Navigate Their Cancer Journey
Oncology APRNs’ Role in Communicating With Older Adults With Cancer
Balance Hope and Quality of Life for Phase I Clinical Trials
Pickles Group  Pickles Group Support Kit 
Association of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Nurses 
ONS book: This Should Not Be Happening: Young Adults With Cancer 
Anticancer Research article: Impact of Parental Cancer on Children
To discuss the information in this episode with other oncology nurses, visit the ONS Communities.  
To find resources for creating an ONS Podcast Club in your chapter or nursing community, visit the ONS Podcast Library. 
To provide feedback or otherwise reach ONS about the podcast, email pubONSVoice@ons.org. 
Highlights From Today’s Episode 
“I think there’s a concern that young kids won’t understand or won’t remember, and what we actually see is that even the youngest kids can really pick up on changes in their environment. So, when there’s a cancer diagnosis, there is inevitably unavoidable change and disruption, whether it be to caregiving routines, availability, schedules, their appearance and ability status, hospitalizations, and certainly observed emotions. Kids are curious at all ages, so they pick up on things and they try to make sense of things on their own. And so, my role is really around helping nurses help parents and parents help their kids understand what’s going on so that they’re not left trying to figure it out on their own.” TS 3:52 
“Providing kids with honest and age-appropriate information is about providing them with a narrative to make sense of what’s going on, and so it is honest, but it is age appropriate to kind of tailor it to the age or development of the child.” TS 5:03 
“Pickles Group was born out of finding families where kids were saying, you know, ‘I want to meet other kids who can relate to this,’ because the second there

“It’s really important to look at where your target is and what the toxicities are associated with hitting that target. Make sure you include that thinking when you’re talking about bispecifics,” ONS member Rowena (Moe) Schwartz, PharmD, BCOP, professor of pharmacy practice at the James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio, told Jaime Weimer, MSN, RN, AGCNS-BS, AOCNS®, manager of oncology nursing practice at ONS, during a discussion about the use of bispecific monoclonal antibodies in hematologic cancers and solid tumors.  

You can earn free NCPD contact hours after listening to this episode and completing the evaluation linked below.  

Music Credit: “Fireflies and Stardust” by Kevin MacLeod 

Licensed under Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0 

Earn 0.5 contact hours of nursing continuing professional development (NCPD), which may be applied to the treatment ILNA category, by listening to the full recording and completing an evaluation at myoutcomes.ons.org by September 1, 2025. The planners and faculty for this episode have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose. ONS is accredited as a provider of NCPD by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. 

Learning outcome: The learner will report an increase in knowledge related to bispecific monoclonal antibodies in hematologic cancers and solid tumors. 

Episode Notes 

Complete this evaluation for free NCPD. 
ONS Voice drug reference sheets and FDA announcements about bispecific anticancer therapies 


ONS resources for cytokine release syndrome 

Oncology Nursing Podcast Episode 176: Oncologic Emergencies 101: Cytokine Release Syndrome 
Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing article: STAT: Cytokine Release Syndrome 
Clinical Practice Resource 
Clinical Practice Video 


Huddle Card™ 

Cancer article: The BiTE (Bispecific T-Cell Engager) Platform: Development and Future Potential of a Targeted Immuno-Oncology Therapy Across Tumor Types 
Pharmaceutics article: Bispecific Antibodies in Cancer Immunotherapy: A Novel Response to an Old Question 
U.S. Food and Drug Administration label search for package inserts 

To discuss the information in this episode with other oncology nurses, visit the ONS Communities.  

To find resources for creating an ONS Podcast Club in your chapter or nursing community, visit the ONS Podcast Library. 

To provide feedback or otherwise reach ONS about the podcast, email pubONSVoice@ons.org. 


Highlights From Today’s Episode 

“When we talk about bispecifics, we need to really pay attention to both the target on the cancer and the target for T-cell engaging, because that impacts both efficacy but also toxicity.” TS 4:20 

“If you really look deep into the clinical trials, often the patients that are receiving these agents in clinical trials have had more than the required three or four lines of treatment. They may have had five or more lines of treatment. So it’s really important to kind of look at where it sits right now, knowing, of course, that that’s an evolving target.” TS 7:13 

“One of the things I think can be missed, at times, is the fact that you need to consider the toxicities associated with your target on the cancer cell.” TS 10:06 

“In terms of mitigating risk, there’s been two major ways that have been done. One is a step-up dose schedule, and so one of the key things I would say: If you’re not familiar with an agent that you’re going to be administering, it’s really important to review the entire step-up scheme because it's different for each agent. In some cases, patients need to be admitted to the hospital for the entire step-up strategy. Other times it's just the first dose. So it’s really important to look at that.” TS 11:58 

“I think we’re going to

“You don’t have to have any musical background to benefit from musical therapy,” ONS member Susan Yaguda, MSN, RN, manager of integrative oncology and survivorship in the Department of Supportive Oncology at the Levine Cancer Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina, told Jaime Weimer, MSN, RN, AGCNS-BS, AOCNS®, manager of oncology nursing practice at ONS, during a discussion about how music therapists and oncology nurses collaborate to offer music therapy’s benefits to patients with cancer.  

You can earn free NCPD contact hours after listening to this episode and completing the evaluation linked below.  

Music Credit: “Fireflies and Stardust” by Kevin MacLeod 

Licensed under Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0 

Earn 0.5 contact hours of nursing continuing professional development (NCPD), which may be applied to the Symptom Management, Palliative Care, and Supportive Care ILNA categories, by listening to the full recording and completing an evaluation at myoutcomes.ons.org http://myoutcomes.ons.org/by August 25, 2025. The planners and faculty for this episode have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose. ONS is accredited as a provider of NCPD by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. 

Learning outcome: The learner will report an increase in knowledge related to the use of music therapy. 

Episode Notes 

Complete this evaluation for free NCPD. 


ONS Voice articles: 

What the Evidence Says About Music Therapy for Cancer-Related Fatigue 
Music Therapy May Bridge Race-Related Gaps in Cancer Pain Management 

Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing article: Mindful Awareness of Music: A Modality for Symptom Management 
Academy of Neurologic Music Therapy 


American Music Therapy Association 
Association for Music and Imagery 
Certification Board of Music Therapists 


To discuss the information in this episode with other oncology nurses, visit the ONS Communities.  

To find resources for creating an ONS Podcast Club in your chapter or nursing community, visit the ONS Podcast Library. 

To provide feedback or otherwise reach ONS about the podcast, email pubONSVoice@ons.org. 

Highlights From Today’s Episode 

“A lot of people have their workout playlist or something that kind of pumps them up before they're going to go play a tennis match or something like that. But in using music in this way, there isn't really a specific therapeutic goal and the relationship in these situations. And while any of us can provide recorded music or live music to patients, certainly our care partners, if we're not trained as music therapists, it just should not be considered or referred to as music therapy.” TS 3:56 

“It might be using music to help regulate breath work, to reduce stress and anxiety associated with whatever they're having done in the suite. It can also be used as a distraction.” TS 6:19 

“Oftentimes after that point, our patients may be starting to experience some other troubling side effects or symptoms from their treatment or their cancer. The music therapist can help them with better manage those in a supportive way. And this can be done in things like techniques to help them manage pain, techniques to help them maybe destress and get more restful, sleep even.” TS 7:00 

“Sometimes using music as that tool helps create the space that does feel even more safe. It’s not necessarily having to talk to someone directly, but music is the vehicle for doing that processing work.” TS 15:01 

“There is receptive music therapy. So that is basically where the person receiving music therapy is not co-creating music, or writing lyrics, or anything like that, they’re just listening. There might just be some paced breathing exercises that are incorporated into this. It tends to be a more repetitive type of ca

“It’s really an exciting time to be in the field of oncology because we can have these specific drugs that target these specific variants rather than, back in the day, when we had to use kind of generic cancer therapies that weren’t specific for an individual’s cancer,” ONS member Suzanne Walker, PhD, CRNP, AOCN®, senior advanced practice provider and coordinator for thoracic malignancies at the Abramson Cancer Center at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in Philadelphia, PA, told Jaime Weimer, MSN, RN, AGCNS-BS, AOCNS®, manager of oncology nursing practice at ONS, during a discussion about the latest updates in chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatments. Walker is one of the editors of ONS’s second edition of the Chemotherapy and Immunotherapy Guidelines and Recommendations for Practice book. You can earn free NCPD contact hours after listening to this episode and completing the evaluation linked below.
Music Credit: “Fireflies and Stardust” by Kevin MacLeod
Licensed under Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0
Earn 0.75 contact hours of nursing continuing professional development (NCPD), which may be applied to the treatment ILNA category, by listening to the full recording and completing an evaluation at myoutcomes.ons.org by August 18, 2025. The planners and faculty for this episode have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose. ONS is accredited as a provider of NCPD by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
Learning outcome: The learner will report an increase in knowledge related to updates in chemotherapy and immunotherapy.
Episode Notes
Complete this evaluation for free NCPD.  Oncology Nursing Podcast: Episode 242: Oncology Pharmacology 2023: Today’s Treatments and Tomorrow’s Breakthroughs Episode 139: How CAR and Other T Cells Are Revolutionizing Cancer Treatment ONS books: Chemotherapy and Immunotherapy Guidelines and Recommendations for Practice (second edition) Clinical Guide to Antineoplastic Therapy: A Chemotherapy Handbook (fourth edition) Guide to Cancer Immunotherapy ONS Biomarker Database ONS courses: ONS/ONCC Chemotherapy Immunotherapy Certificate Course ONS/ONCC Chemotherapy Immunotherapy Certificate Renewal Course Fundamentals of Chemotherapy Immunotherapy Administration Fundamentals of Chemotherapy Immunotherapy Administration Renewal ONS Huddle Cards™️: Antineoplastic Administration Chemotherapy Immunotherapy Targeted Therapy ONS Immuno-Oncology Learning Library ONS Congress® American Cancer Society U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Oncology Drug Approvals National Cancer Institute National Comprehensive Cancer Network Nature Reviews Drug Discovery article: Trends in the Approval of Cancer Therapies by FDA In the Twenty-First Century OncoLink To discuss the information in this episode with other oncology nurses, visit the ONS Communities. 
To find resources for creating an ONS Podcast Club in your chapter or nursing community, visit the ONS Podcast Library. 
To provide feedback or otherwise reach ONS about the podcast, email pubONSVoice@ons.org. 
Highlights From Today’s Episode
“We’ve seen significant improvement in cancer survival over the past one to two decades. And primarily we’ve seen this not only from reductions in smoking and earlier cancer detection, but advancements in some of our treatments, most notably in the realm of immunotherapy and targeted therapy.” Timestamp (TS) 02:07
“With the discovery of the biomarkers, it has brought around the discovery of genomic-driven therapies that are specific to these biomarkers. That’s really changed the landscape of oncology for people that have one of these driver variants.” TS 07:55
“I’ve definitely seen in my practice where therapy has been completed and, especially for some of these immunotherapy drugs, a couple of months later the patient develops a toxicity that is from the prior immunothera