“The reason that oncology nursing developed at the moment it did was from you and the other few people who were real leaders in your field. . . . It happened in that particular moment because of you and [the other founding members of ONS],” George Hill, MD, MA, DLitt, Captain, Medical Corps, U.S. Navy Reserve (retired), told Cindi Cantril, MPH, RN, OCN®, CBCN, founding board member and first vice president of ONS. Hill was a monumental supporter of ONS’s founding and incorporation in 1975, and the duo reflected on their experiences and the history of oncology nursing. 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) by listening to the full recording and completing an evaluation at myoutcomes.ons.org by May 5, 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 early formation of ONS. Episode Notes   Complete this evaluation for free NCPD. Learn more about the history of ONS. ONS Voice articles:   NOBC Partnerships Advance Nurses’ Placements on Local and National Boards  Boards and Committees Need Oncology APRN Voices. Will You Step Up to the Challenge?   Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing article: Supporting One Another for 40 Years  The Early Days: Four Smiles and a Post Office Box Oncology Nursing Foundation Association of Community Cancer Centers American Association for Cancer Education European Association for Cancer Education  National Cancer Act of 1971  To discuss the information in this episode with other oncology nurses, visit the ONS Communities. To provide feedback or otherwise reach ONS about the podcast, email pubONSVoice@ons.org. Highlights From Today’s Episode “There’s no doubt that the National Cancer Act elevated the whole field of oncology into something that was very different. . . . The reason that oncology nursing developed at the moment it did was from you and the other few people who were real leaders in your field. . . . It happened in that particular moment because of you and [the other founding members of ONS].” Timestamp (TS) 02:48 “In the 1950s and 60s, cancer was a word that was never mentioned. The idea of having something called cancer was so mysterious, so dangerous, so frightful, you could not mention cancer. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City was a pioneer in introducing the word cancer to be able to be used. But most everywhere else, even in oncology, we had to dodge around the term.” TS 09:43 “Throughout America, people need medical care and cancer care close to home. People can often drive many hours just to reach a community cancer center. To reach a comprehensive cancer center such as Memorial Sloan Kettering or MD Anderson would be impossible. So, the idea of developing physicians and radiation therapists and nursing oncologists who can do the job close to home is terribly important, otherwise they just don’t get treated.” TS 12:44 “The opportunity and the goal of working with people of like mind in other countries is well worth doing. And we also learn from them.” TS 28:33

Episode 258: ONS Through the Ages: Stories From the Early Days With Cindi Cantril and George Hill

Where ONS Voices Talk Cancer. 

Join oncology nurses as they sit down to discuss the topics important to nursing practice and treating patients with cancer.

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 “I think a virtual nurse can have the same sort of presence that a bedside nurse does. I like to think of a virtual nurse as pulling up a virtual chair next to that patient and spending time to ask questions and engage with them,” Laura Gartner, DNP, MS, RN, NEA-BC, associate chief nursing informatics officer for inpatient shared services and north region at Jefferson Health in the Philadelphia, PA, area told Jaime Weimer, MSN, RN, AGCNS-BS, AOCNS®, manager of oncology nursing practice at ONS, during a conversation about virtual nursing care.  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) by listening to the full recording and completing an evaluation at myoutcomes.ons.org by May 17, 2026. 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: Learners will report an increase in knowledge related to virtual nursing.  Episode Notes    Complete this evaluation for free NCPD.  Oncology Nursing Podcast episodes:   Episode 282: Telehealth-Based Oncology Palliative Care Episode 136: Nurse Innovators Use Telehealth to Improve Adult and Pediatric Symptom Reporting Episode 109: Is Telehealth the Future of Cancer Care?   ONS Voice articles:   How’s Your Video Telehealth ‘Webside Manner’?  Innovative Solutions to Maximize Oncology Nurse Staffing During a Nursing Shortage  Personalized Patient Education: Ensure Effective, Inclusive, and Equitable Patient Education With These Five Strategies  Telehealth: The Future Is Now for Patient-Centered Care   ONS book:  Telephone Triage for Oncology Nurses (third edition) Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing articles:  Nursing Telemedicine Educational Encounters: Improved Patient Satisfaction in Radiation Therapy Clinics Oncology Nurse Navigation: Expansion of the Navigator Role Through Telehealth Telehealth Use in Rural North Carolina Counties: Perceptions Among Patients With Acute Myeloid Leukemia Telemedicine Versus Clinic Visit: A Pilot Study of Patient Satisfaction and Recall of Diet and Exercise Recommendations From Survivorship Care Plans   Oncology Nursing Forum articles:  A Telemedicine-Delivered Nursing Intervention for Cancer-Related Distress in Rural Survivors Breast Cancer Survivors' Satisfaction and Information Recall of Telehealth Survivorship Care Plan Appointments During the COVID-19 Pandemic Rural Cancer Survivors' Perceptions of a Nurse-Led Telehealth Intervention to Manage Cancer-Related Distress Telenursing Interventions for Patients With Cancer Receiving Chemotherapy: A Scoping Review   ONS Clinical Practice Resource:  Racial Disparities in Cancer Care: Telehealth and Clinical Trial Options Jefferson Health press release:  Jefferson Health Launches Virtual Nurse Program  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 This Episode  “I think that the virtual nurse plays a really important role in nurse staffing shortages. With this shortage, we need to get creative and think outside the box so that we can facilitate nurse wellness, work-life balance, and satisfaction and make our hospitals the place that nurses want to work. I firmly believe that nothing can replace the physical touch, but there are so many things a nurse does every day that can be done by somebody remotely that can reduce the workload of that bedside nurse.” TS 3:28  “About eight nurses between these two floors have volunteered to take on this role as a virtual nurse, and so they will come right from that floor. But there’s a lot of conversation about whether you should use staff from the floor, if you should use other people, things along those lines. But right now, we really hope and think that the nurses we’ve identified for this phase have a relationship with these units. They know how the units work, and that might help get everybody working together.” TS 6:37  “We found that it was really important to have a virtual knock for the patient so that you’re not just popping into a room and taking a patient off guard. Privacy features for the patient—so if there’s a camera pointing at the patient all the time, that gives a patient a little unease. ‘Is somebody watching me?’ And when we weren’t really watching them all the time; it was intermittent care, so having a camera turn away from the patient when it’s off or have a clear indicator that it’s not on.” TS 11:57  “In terms of lessons learned with the virtual staff…I don’t think that you can just take any nurse off the floor and put them behind a camera. There is a bit of a ‘webside manner,’ if you will. People need to be comfortable doing things remotely where they can’t touch the patient, or having a conversation with somebody through a camera might not be a skill that everybody has or is comfortable doing.” TS 13:39 “I don’t think a virtual nurse can replace that physical touch. What I see a virtual nurse is, is another member of the care team whose care complements the care the bedside nurse is providing. I don’t think that we should be looking to remove resources from the bedside with this nursing shortage but rather evaluate what our nurses are doing, identify if there’s tasks that someone else can do for them so that they can focus on the patient. And there are plenty of things that a virtual nurse could do so that the bedside nurse can spend more time doing quality work with that patient.” TS 21:40

Episode 312: Virtual Nursing in Health Care

 “Chemotherapy exposure during the first trimester is contraindicated and increases the risk of spontaneous abortion, fetal death, and major congenital malformations. Second- and third-trimester exposure may affect some body systems still developing and can still result in fetal growth restriction, low birth weight, and preterm labor. Yet, I do want to stress that pregnancy can remain a possibility,” Kelsey Miller, MSN, RN, AGCNS-BC, OCN®, clinical nurse specialist in oncology and infusion therapy at Reading Hospital in West Reading, PA, told Jaime Weimer, MSN, RN, AGCNS-BS, AOCNS®, manager of oncology nursing practice at ONS, during a conversation about policies and procedures for pregnancy testing during cancer treatment.  Music Credit: “Fireflies and Stardust” by Kevin MacLeod  Licensed under Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0   Earn 0.25 contact hours of nursing continuing professional development (NCPD) by listening to the full recording and completing an evaluation at myoutcomes.ons.org by May 10, 2026. 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: Learners will report an increase in knowledge related to pregnancy screening procedures during cancer treatment.  Episode Notes    Complete this evaluation for free NCPD.  Oncology Nursing Podcast episodes:   Episode 217: Support Pregnant and Postpartum Patients During Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment  Episode 208: How to Have Fertility Preservation Conversations With Your Patients   ONS Voice article:  The Case of the Pregnancy Predicament ONS book:  Oncology Nurse Navigation: Delivering Patient-Centered Care Across the Continuum (second edition) Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing articles:  Pregnancy and Cancer Treatment: Developing a Standardized Testing Policy and Procedure Unintended Pregnancy: A Systematic Review of Contraception Use and Counseling in Women With Cancer   ONS Huddle Cards   Fertility Preservation Sexuality   ONS Congress® abstract: System Approach to Fertility Preservation and Pregnancy Status During Active Cancer Treatment (by Kelsey Miller and Ainsley Hartman) ECHO program (Enriching Communication Skills for Health Professionals in Oncofertility) Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network article: Pregnancy Screening in Patients With Cancer   National Comprehensive Cancer Network Guidelines: Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Oncology   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 This Episode  “It’s really crucial to identify [pregnancy] prior to treatment, as this should be considered a patient safety ‘never’ event. We know that exposure to chemotherapy or radiation can cause mutagenic changes in reproductive cells and teratogenic effects in a developing fetus. Women of childbearing potential should have a documented pregnancy test prior to beginning cancer treatment due to the adverse effects of chemotherapy and radiation on a developing fetus.” TS 1:42  “We had a fertility risk checklist that was based off American Society of Clinical Oncology standards, that was not fully operationalized nor built into physician workflows. The checklist was a way of documenting that risks of infertility, fertility preservation, and contraception was discussed, as well as an attestation that referral to a reproductive endocrinologist was made if needed. I had a physician partner at the time who said the only way to get the providers to fill out this checklist is to make it a hard stop, so that’s what we did. The fertility risk checklist is now a hard stop by means of an order validation that will pop up when the provider goes to sign the oncology treatment plan, and it will say, ‘Orders cannot be signed unless the fertility risk checklist is complete.’” TS 9:27  “Whenever I develop teams, I like to share a common vision. We’re all here for patient safety, and we want to prevent harm by pregnancy screening these patients that could potentially become pregnant during cancer treatment.” TS 13:20  “There’s a misconception that all cancer therapy will render patients infertile, and this is not the case. Even though chemotherapy and radiation reduce fertility and may cause premature ovarian failure, many patients still remain fertile. And we know from research that physical intimacy remains important during cancer treatment, and unintended pregnancies may occur.” TS 18:13

Episode 311: Standardized Pregnancy Testing Processes in Cancer Care

 Episode 310: Pharmacology 101: Androgen Receptor Inhibitors and Antiandrogens  “The things that I think creep up are things that unfortunately are quite common, and that’s hot flashes. I’ve had patients say that those are just overwhelming, and they want to go off therapy because of it. So I think talking about pharmacologic management, as well as lifestyle management, of hot flashes, are equally as important,” Rowena “Moe” Schwartz, PharmD, BCOP, FHOPA, professor of pharmacy practice at 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 conversation about androgen receptor inhibitor and antiandrogen drug classes.  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) by listening to the full recording and completing an evaluation at myoutcomes.ons.org by May 3, 2026. 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: Learners will report an increase in knowledge related to androgen receptor inhibitors and antiandrogens.  Episode Notes    Complete this evaluation for free NCPD.  Oncology Nursing Podcast episodes:   Pharmacology 101 series  Episode 242: Oncology Pharmacology 2023: Today’s Treatments and Tomorrow’s Breakthroughs  Episode 194: Sex Is a Component of Patient-Centered Care  Episode 113: Manage Cancer-Related Hot Flashes With ONS Guidelines™   ONS Voice articles:   Oncology Drug Reference Sheet: Darolutamide  Oncology Drug Reference Sheet: Relugolix  Genetic Disorder Reference Sheet: HOXB13  Sexual Considerations for Patients With Cancer  Nursing Considerations for Prostate Cancer Survivorship Care  Exercise Before ADT Treatment Reduces Rate of Side Effects   ONS books:   Chemotherapy and Immunotherapy Guidelines and Recommendations for Practice (second edition)  Clinical Guide to Antineoplastic Therapy: A Chemotherapy Handbook (fourth edition)   Oncology Nursing Forum articles:  An Exploratory Study of Cognitive Function and Central Adiposity in Men Receiving Androgen Deprivation Therapy for Prostate Cancer Management of Androgen Deprivation Therapy–Associated Hot Flashes in Men With Prostate Cancer   Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing articles:  Hot Flashes: Clinical Summary of the ONS Guidelines™ for Cancer Treatment-Related Hot Flashes in Women With Breast Cancer and Men With Prostate Cancer Hot Flashes: Common Side Effect Genitourinary Distress: Common Side Effect   ONS Guidelines™ and Symptom Interventions  Fatigue  Hot Flashes  Oral Anticancer Medication   ONS Huddle Cards:  Altered Body Image Hormone Therapy Sexuality    ONS Cancer of the Genitourinary Tract Learning Library Cancer Research article:  Studies on Prostatic Cancer. I. The Effect of Castration, of Estrogen and of Androgen Injection on Serum Phosphatases in Metastatic Carcinoma of the Prostate   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 This Episode  “The androgen deprivation therapy is either orchiectomy, which we tend not to use as much anymore; LHRH agonists, meaning that they act like LHRH…and then now LHRH antagonists are taking an increased role because we now have an oral drug that is an LHRH antagonist.” TS 3:44  “When you give an LHRH agonist, you initially have an increase in testosterone, but over time you cause a decrease in the ability of the pituitary to produce luteinizing hormone. Therefore, you get decreased stimulation in the testes to produce androgens. So when you think of an LHRH agonist, by continual use, what you do—you get an initial surge and then a decrease overall if patients stay on the drug. And so LHRH agonists—leuprolide, goserelin, triptorelin—those are agents that are agonist. LHRH antagonists have a direct effect to block the receptor and decrease release of luteinizing hormone and follicle-stimulating hormone, ultimately decreasing testosterone. LHRH antagonists don't have that surge of testosterone. They have an immediate effect of decreasing testosterone.” TS 4:41  “In terms of the LHRH antagonists, we’ve only had one drug for a while that’s an antagonist. That’s degarelix. Recently there was the approval of relugolix, which is an oral LHRH antagonist. And that has shown to have great effect in a noninferiority trial in terms to the LHRH agonists. And also there’s some benefit with decreased cardiovascular risk with that drug. So I think this is the drug we’re starting to see more and more.” TS 7:01  “The other thing with abiraterone acetate, it is recommended by labeling to take on an empty stomach at least an hour before two hours after a meal. But there is data that you can use a lower dose with a low-fat meal, and so you will see many providers providing a lower dose, often to get around the cost issue sometime around the pill burden. And that needs to be taken with a low-fat meal. So I have patients who are on the lower dose. We’ve talked about taking it with a low-fat meal. Now specialty pharmacy has talked about it. And then they read stuff that’s online or in the literature and they’re like, ‘Oh, I shouldn’t be taking this with any food at all.’ So it’s really important to make sure that you educate patients how to take the medication and warn them if there’s different instruction out there than what you’re giving.” TS 16:47  “Adherence to the schedule—a lot of times people are getting LHRH agonists every three months. … Maybe you’re going to miss it this month. You miss one dose—that’s six months. So it’s really important that if people are going to not be able to get their injection, that they call, and it’s rescheduled, and they have a mechanism to make sure that you don’t lose people to follow up. So adherence to all therapy—essential.” TS 21:27

Episode 310: Pharmacology 101: Androgen Receptor Inhibitors and Antiandrogens

 “It was really the ability to be able to connect with many individuals from my profession. Reflecting on what initially drew me to ONS Congress, I can’t help but reminisce about my first time attending in 2002. I was going down memory lane the other day and found some pictures from my first time attending. As I reflected, I could not help but feel immensely grateful for the support and education I received as a novice nurse during that time from attending Congress,” Jessica MacIntyre, DNP, MBA, APRN, AOCNP®, 2024–2026 ONS president, told Lenise Taylor, MN, RN, AOCNS®, BMTCN®, oncology clinical specialist at ONS, during a conversation about ONS Congress. Taylor spoke with several 2024 ONS Congress attendees, asking the question “What brought you to ONS Congress?” Listen to their stories and learn how the conference has affected their careers in this special episode.  Music Credit: “Fireflies and Stardust” by Kevin MacLeod  Licensed under Creative Commons by Attribution 3.0   Episode Notes    Information on submitting an abstract to ONS Congress  Oncology Nursing Foundation ONS Congress Scholarships Oncology Nursing Podcast episodes:  Episode 258: ONS Through the Ages: Stories From the Early Days With Cindi Cantril and George Hill Episode 160: Build Innovative Staff Education Tools and Resources Episode 191: Explore Orientation Opportunities for New-to-Practice Nurses   ONS Voice articles:   Our Unified Voices Can Improve Cancer Survivorship Care  Personalized Patient Education: Ensure Effective, Inclusive, and Equitable Patient Education With These Five Strategies   ONS Congress presentations from episode guests  The Nurse as an Effective Educator: Facilitating Patient-Centered Learning (Beau Amaya) Powerful Outcomes From Nurse and Patient Policy Advocacy (Gilanie De Castro) Back to Basics: Utilizing Huddles to Emphasize Standard Care and Maintenance of Central Venous Catheters in an Effort to Reduce CLABSI (Erin Hillmon) Enhancing Triage Precision: Nurse Navigation's Impact on a Lymphedema Program (Jessica MacIntyre) Implementing a Graduate Nurse Residency Program (Leah Scaramuzzo)     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 This Episode  “What I want to accomplish is really to contribute significantly to an organization that has contributed so greatly to me. And until you go to Congress, you don’t fully realize the ripple effect that ONS has on the field of oncology nursing. They really are a cornerstone to our profession. So when I volunteer with ONS, I feel like I’m serving the oncology nursing community as a whole, and I’m so grateful to get to do that on a national level.” (Stacey Clements, BSN, RN) TS 3:35  “What is bringing me to Congress is to talk about patient education, health literacy, ways that we can improve the patient experience and help them understanding. And I think this is such an important topic because it’s what we do at the core of nursing. We really teach patients and their caregivers how to take care of themselves. And sometimes we forget that it’s not just a checklist to get the education done. It’s really learning what the patient needs, what they need to think about—some consideration about what may be affecting the way that they’re retaining information. Then hopefully I can give some tools and have some discussion with many different nurses across the U.S.” (Beau Amaya, MS, RN, OCN®) TS 5:04  “Why I am so excited to attend Congress is that it really gives us an opportunity to work together with our colleagues, learn what each other is doing, and kind of leverage our collective wisdom. So this way we work smarter instead of harder.” (Leah Scaramuzzo, MSN, RN, MEDSURG-BC, AOCN®) TS 7:58  “I was a scholarship recipient, which I was super excited to receive this year for the Congress 2024 in D.C. … Out of COVID, we all were virtual, so I wanted to able to see people in person and attend a national event. Also, I’m looking forward to reigniting my passion for oncology nursing because you kind of get burned out after a while in this field.” (Brenda Marsolek, BSN, RN, OCN®) TS 9:14  “I’m also really excited to share my role as a nurse resident. I hear a lot that new nurses shouldn’t be hired in oncology or it’s difficult to hire them. And I did it. I successfully did it with the help of [Leah and Brenda]. And so, I think other people can do that as well and that we can have new grad nurses have really healthy careers in oncology in the future.” (Brandy Thornberry, ASN, RN, OCN®) TS 10:38  “I chose to be a presenter this year because I always enjoyed listening to the presentations that everyone else brings to Congress. I always learned so much. I wanted the opportunity to be able to share one of the projects I did last year that had great results attached to it, so that hopefully others can listen to my presentation and maybe take something away from it back to their own centers.” (Erin Hillmon, MSN, RN, BMTCN®) TS 11:28  “Nurses can find ways to engage in shaping health policy. Many nurses don’t recognize the connection between health policy and the bedside. Policies beyond one’s institutions or organizations have a direct impact on how we nurses practice. And my goal is to empower nurses to understand that because of our professional experience, education, and interactions with those populations who we care for, we are really poised to influence and shape health policy.” (Gilanie De Castro, MSN, RN, OCN®, NE-BC, CNML) TS 14:38  “The big thing I want to let everybody know about Congress is that there’s so much to learn, and there’s so much experience that every attendee brings. No matter what level of education you have, what setting you work in, what kind of patients you take care of, everybody has something that they can bring to the table. It doesn’t matter where you learn this information either. There’s lots of sessions, posters, and networking roundtables. What I’ve learned in these few years is really just embracing what Congress can bring to everybody. So for anybody that’s on the fence, I’d urge you to take that leap and register. Attending Congress is a decision you won’t regret.” (Holly Tenaglia, DNP, APRN, AGCNS-BC, OCN®) TS 19:47

Episode 309: What Brings You to ONS Congress®?

“One of the things that I know Dr. [Tom] Connor worked on very heavily in his career is the long-term impact on the health of nurses and other exposed healthcare workers. We definitely need more longitudinal studies, which are difficult to do. And it’s not something that you see every day where I talk to chemo nurses and said, ‘Hey, I’ve been in this 20 years. It hasn't bothered me at all.’ Well, until it does. Therefore, it’s so important when we’re training incoming nurses—how very important it is to start with these practices early in the career and throughout the career,” Charlotte A. Smith, RPh, MS, senior regulatory advisor at Waste Management PharmEcology Services in Milwaukee, WI, told Lenise Taylor, MN, RN, AOCNS®, BMTCN®, oncology clinical specialist at ONS, during a conversation about hazardous drug and waste disposal.  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) by listening to the full recording and completing an evaluation at myoutcomes.ons.org by April 19, 2026. 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:  Learners will report an increase in knowledge related to hazardous drugs and hazardous waste.  Episode Notes    Complete this evaluation for free NCPD.  Oncology Nursing Podcast episodes:   Episode 209: Updates in Chemo PPE and Safe Handling Episode 142: The How-To of Home Infusions   ONS Voice articles:   Two Oncology Nurses Implement Process to Allow Patients to Disconnect Pumps From the Comfort of Their Own Homes  The Oncology Nurse’s Role in Oral Anticancer Therapies  Strategies to Promote Safe Medication Administration Practices    ONS Safe Handling of Hazardous Drugs Learning Library ONS position statement:  Infusion of Antineoplastic Therapies in the Home ONS book:  Safe Handling of Hazardous Drugs (fourth edition) ONS course: Safe Handling Basics Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing articles:  Environmental Risk Factors: The Role of Oncology Nurses in Assessing and Reducing the Risk for Exposure Oral Chemotherapy: A Home Safety Educational Framework for Healthcare Providers, Patients, and Caregivers Oral Chemotherapy: An Evidence-Based Practice Change for Safe Handling of Patient Waste Reconciliation and Disposal of Oral Medication: Creating a Safe Process for Clinical Research Personnel   Pharmacy Practice News article:  Applying NIOSH Hazardous Drug Assessment of Risk Principles To Home Healthcare (by Charlotte Smith and Tom Connor) Books mentioned in this episode:  Silent Spring by Rachel Carson  Our Stolen Future by Theo Colborn, Diane Dumanoski, and John Peterson Myers Generations at Risk by Ted Schettler, Gina Solomon, Maria Valenti, and Annette Huddle   Drug Enforcement Agency: National Prescription Drug Takeback Day Environmental Protection Agency:  Final Rule: Management Standards for Hazardous Waste Pharmaceuticals and Amendment to the P075 Listing for Nicotine MD Anderson Cancer Center:  Chemotherapy at Home: 9 Things to Know (patient resource) Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center:  Safe Handling of Chemotherapy and Biotherapy at Home (patient resource) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health:  Hazardous Drugs in Healthcare Settings Managing Hazardous Drug Exposures: Information for Healthcare Settings NIOSH List of Antineoplastic and Other Hazardous Drugs in Healthcare Settings, 2016     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 This Episode  “A hazardous waste is a chemical, some of which are drugs, that EPA has determined is hazardous to the environment. Hazardous waste may be listed waste, which are given actual numbers, or they may be characteristic waste, which meets certain levels of concern, such as ignitability or toxicity. Only a small percentage of drug waste meets the EPA’s definition of hazardous waste, including a number of chemotherapy drugs.” TS 2:09  “The poster child for hazardous waste is warfarin, which, as you may be aware, is not only appropriate for managing clotting time but is also available commercially as rat poison. This is an example of how chemicals can serve more than one purpose and why dosage and regulation are so important.” TS 4:04  “Some of your listeners may have been around long enough to remember the book Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson, in which she eloquently exposed the risks to many species by the widespread use of DDT, an insecticide, at that time. More recently, the book Our Stolen Future by Theo Colborn, a pharmacist, Diane Dumanoski, and John Peterson Myers, raised the specter of the effects of endocrine disruption on wildlife and humans. The effects of drugs like diethylstilbestrol, or DES, once given during pregnancy, on the fetus, impacted the risk of cancer and other untoward effects in the offspring. The book remains a dramatic reminder of the risk of exposure to hazardous chemicals, including drugs.” TS 9:37  “Providing a homecare checklist for both the nurse and the patient and family is a simple way to keep track of all areas that need to be covered. For example, who in the household may be at most risk from exposure? This list includes infants, elderly family members, caregivers, pregnant family members, even pets. Is there a secure area to store the drug that cannot be reached by children?” TS 14:21  “I think what happens—we become so into our routine that what we do on a daily basis, we just kind of go through and do it without always thinking about it. And we can forget that not everyone has the same context of understanding these risks that the medications have to both the environment and the individual exposed to them. And I know it’s challenging to put on all the gowns and the gloves and whatnot. And, you know, it gets in the way of doing their job. It's important to educate each individual potentially exposed to these drugs, as if they do not have the understanding that we do. So embedding those consistent safety practices into daily routine is so imperative to ensure safe handling of hazardous drugs and then the proper disposal of hazardous waste pharmaceuticals.” TS 18:55

Episode 258: ONS Through the Ages: Stories From the Early Days With Cindi Cantril and George Hill

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