33rd Annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium kicks off

Article

What if I told you that losing your hair during chemotherapy may not be inevitable or that sometimes making irrational decisions can be beneficial? Or how about this...did you know that even cancer cells get stressed? Would I have your attention? These fascinating topics will be explored over the next few days at the 33rd annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, along with presentations on the latest research and treatment in breast cancer.What began in 1978, when a group of 141 physicians and surgeons from a five-state area got together to discuss ways to reduce the death rate caused by breast cancer in San Antonio and surrounding counties, has turned into an international conference attended by physicians, researchers and advocates from over 90 countries. The overall objective of SABCS, however, remains the same. Its mission is to produce a unique and comprehensive scientific meeting that encompasses the full spectrum of breast cancer research, facilitating the rapid translation of new knowledge into better care for breast cancer patients.For the next few days, the CURE team will be bringing you updates from this very important gathering of international thought leaders. Not only will we deliver the latest and greatest scientific news surrounding breast cancer, but will also be talking to survivors and advocates about their passionate causes. We'll be blogging, tweeting, writing and filming daily so be sure to follow us!

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For patients with cancer, the ongoing chemotherapy shortage may cause some anxiety as they wonder how they will receive their drugs. However, measuring drugs “down to the minutiae of the milligrams” helped patients receive the drugs they needed, said Alison Tray. Tray is an advanced oncology certified nurse practitioner and current vice president of ambulatory operations at Rutgers Cancer Institute in New Jersey. If patients are concerned about getting their cancer drugs, Tray noted that having “an open conversation” between patients and providers is key. “As a provider and a nurse myself, having that conversation, that reassurance and sharing the information is a two-way conversation,” she said. “So just knowing that we're taking care of you, we're going to make sure that you receive the care that you need is the key takeaway.” In June 2023, many patients were unable to receive certain chemotherapy drugs, such as carboplatin and cisplatin because of an ongoing shortage. By October 2023, experts saw an improvement, although the “ongoing crisis” remained. READ MORE: Patients With Lung Cancer Face Unmet Needs During Drug Shortages “We’re really proud of the work that we could do and achieve that through a critical drug shortage,” Tray said. “None of our patients missed a dose of chemotherapy and we were able to provide that for them.” Tray sat down with CURE® during the 49th Annual Oncology Nursing Society Annual Congress to discuss the ongoing chemo shortage and how patients and care teams approached these challenges. Transcript: Particularly at Hartford HealthCare, when we established this infrastructure, our goal was to make sure that every patient would get the treatment that they need and require, utilizing the data that we have from ASCO guidelines to ensure that we're getting the optimal high-quality standard of care in a timely fashion that we didn't have to delay therapies. So, we were able to do that by going down to the minutiae of the milligrams on hand, particularly when we had a lot of critical drug shortages. So it was really creating that process to really ensure that every patient would get the treatment that they needed. For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don’t forget to subscribe to CURE®’s newsletters here.
Yuliya P.L Linhares, MD, an expert on CLL
Yuliya P.L Linhares, MD, and Josie Montegaard, MSN, AGPCNP-BC, experts on CLL
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