A study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology found that the Promoting Resilience in Stress Management in Advanced Cancers coaching program may improve resilience and hope among adolescents and young adults with advanced cancer. The program includes sessions on stress management, goal setting, cognitive reframing and meaning-making, as well as a family meeting and an optional session on advance care planning.

Cancer survivors face significant disparities in access to mental health care, particularly in the use of medication for depression and anxiety, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open. Non-Hispanic Black survivors reported lower use of antidepressants and anxiolytics. Survivors with Medicare or Medicaid had higher usage rates than those with private insurance.

The Milburn family of Springfield, Ill., is sharing their experience after daughter Lottie was diagnosed with Sanfilippo syndrome, a condition sometimes known as childhood Alzheimer's. The 4-year-old had been regressing in her communication skills, and her mother, Abby, said a video online helped her recognize symptoms of the disorder. The family hopes to participate in a gene therapy trial. For now, they want to help Lottie be happy.

A study in the journal Seminars in Oncology Nursing found no single right time to begin advance care planning for patients with multiple myeloma. Researchers said nurses should be open to conversations at any point during the care trajectory. "ACP needs to be approached by the appropriate person, at the appropriate time, and in the appropriate way, yet all three of these factors are individual to the myeloma patient and their carer," the researchers said.

Hospice chaplain Rachel Lopez Rosenberg writes that her awareness of mortality has led her to appreciate life more deeply, acknowledging the enjoyment of the wind on her cheek or the taste of a sweet stone fruit. "There are hundreds of these kinds of body-only experiences we have each day and how lovely to recognize their precious, fleeting nature," Rosenberg writes.

A study in the Journal of Palliative Care found that early palliative care interventions improved quality of life and self-care for patients with chronic heart failure, particularly those with New York Heart Association grades 2 and 3. The study involved 180 patients over 60, and found that those who received palliative care had better self-care and cardiac function after six months, compared with patients who received usual care.

The US will face a shortfall of 5.3 million workers with postsecondary education by 2032, including 362,000 registered nurses and nurse practitioners, according to a report from Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce. The need for more RNs is a pressing concern with implications for the nation's health care system, said Nicole Smith, an economist and lead author of the report.