Editor's Pick: Position statement on cancer nursing’s potential to reduce the growing burden of cancer across the world

2021    Every month, we share articles from the MASCC journal Supportive Care in Cancer. The “Editor’s Pick” section, chosen by the journal’s Editor-In-Chief, Dr. Fred Ashbury, PhD, will cover a variety of topics to meet the many interests of our membership. 

This month we feature: Position statement on cancer nursing’s potential to reduce the growing burden of cancer across the world

There is substantial unrealized potential for nurses to reduce the burden of cancer across the world. In low- and middle-income countries, there is an opportunity for government and non-government organizations to improve the working conditions of nurses, such as low pay, workforce shortages, and a lack of opportunities for professional growth.

In many high-resource countries, while specialized cancer nursing roles have developed over many decades and there is a strong evidence base to support them, there is substantial variation in access to such services and regulatory, system level and professional barriers which limit service delivery.