Vanna Dest, MSN, APRN-BC, AOCN, Oncology Nurse Practitioner/Manager, Oncology APP, Smilow Cancer Hospital, discusses the risk factors of prostate cancer.

Dest says there are numerous factors that may increase the risk of prostate cancer in men. The most reliable risk factors are advancing age, family history, and ethnicity.

African American men have a greater incidence of prostate cancer as well as more aggressive disease. Asian men usually have a low incidence of prostate cancer but when they migrate to the United States, their incidence increases, Dest says.

Researchers have also looked at genetic factors, particularly BRCA1 and BRCA2. Dest says BRCA2 seems to be correlated to an increased risk of prostate cancer. There are other factors that researchers are still looking into, Dest says, such as obesity and diets.

The exposure to Agent Orange also seems to increase the risk of prostate cancer in men, Dest says, as well as some pesticides that are used in the farming industry. Finally, some sexual practices may play a role in increasing a person’s risk for prostate cancer.

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Vanna Dest Discusses the Risk Factors of Prostate Cancer

Vanna Dest, MSN, APRN-BC, AOCN, Oncology Nurse Practitioner/Manager, Oncology APP, Yale-New Haven Hospital, discusses cardiac toxicity in patients receiving radiation therapy.

Cardiac toxicity is a big problem following radiation therapy, Dest says, particularly in patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma, left-sided breast cancer, and lung cancer. Age as well as combined modalities play a role in cardiac toxicity, as many patients are being treated with chemotherapy as well as radiation therapy.

Dest says that specific cardiac toxicities that need to be monitored include cardiomyopathy, coronary artery disease, valve changes, and conduction problems.

Vanna Dest, MSN, APRN-BC, AOCN, from the Yale-New Haven Hospital, discusses cardiac toxicity in patients receiving radiation therapy.

Vanna Dest on Cardiac Toxicity Following Radiation Therapy

Vanna Dest, MSN, APRN-BC, AOCN, Oncology Nurse Practitioner/Manager, Oncology APP, Yale-New Haven Hospital, discusses the side effects of treatment with brain radiation.

When patients get brain radiation or cranial radiation, Dest says, the dosage and fractionation significantly impacts the side effects, some of which the patient may experience chronically.

Risk factors for cognitive dysfunction include age. In pediatrics, patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia often get brain radiation as a prophylactic measure or for treatment. In this population, Dest says, cognitive dysfunction is not uncommon. In older patients, cognitive dysfunction is also not uncommon. Dest notes that combined modalities can increase the risk of neurotoxicity.

Vanna Dest, MSN, APRN-BC, AOCN, Oncology Nurse Practitioner/Manager, Oncology APP, Yale-New Haven Hospital, discusses the side effects of treatment with brain radiation.


Vanna Dest, MSN, APRN-BC, AOCN

Articles

Vanna Dest Discusses the Risk Factors of Prostate Cancer

Vanna Dest on Cardiac Toxicity Following Radiation Therapy

Vanna Dest Discusses the Side Effects of Brain Radiation