Jennifer J. Albaladejo is an oncology nurse on the Stem Cell Transplant Unit at a nationally ranked teaching hospital in the NYC area. She has 18 years of experience in the field of oncology, with 14 of those years spent caring for patients undergoing stem cell transplantation for illnesses such as leukemia, lymphoma, myelodysplastic syndrome, amyloidosis, and multiple myeloma. Previously, she worked as a staff nurse at Columbus Hospital in Newark, N.J.; as a nurse clinician for Coram Healthcare, Totowa, N.J.; and as a substitute school nurse for the Manalapan-Englishtown Regional School District, Manalapan, N.J. She earned her RN at the Englewood Hospital and Medical Center School of Nursing, Englewood, N.J. Jennifer serves on her townʼs Emergency Response Team. She holds a certification with the American Red Cross for Shelter Operations.

Tami is a Senior Research Specialist and clinical nurse specialist in the Nursing Research and Education Department at the City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, Calif. She received her Bachelors of Science in Nursing, as well as her Masters in Nursing, Adult Med-Surg, Clinical Nurse Specialist from Azusa Pacific University (APU) in Azusa, Calif. In 2009 she was inducted as a Fellow of Palliative Care Nursing by the Hospice & Palliative Nurses Association. Tami has worked for Dr. Betty Ferrell since 1994 and was the Project Director for an NCI funded study, Reducing Barriers to Pain and Fatigue Management (2005-2010). She is currently the Project Director for an NCI funded Program Project grant (P01), Palliative Care for Quality of life and Symptom Concerns in Lung Cancer (2009-2014) as well as for the Demonstration Project entitled Quality of Spiritual Care as a Dimension of Palliative Care, funded by the Archstone Foundation (2010-2012). Tami has coauthored more than 50 publications (articles and book chapters), chaired the palliative care team for the DC Cancer Coalition in Washington, and is a reviewer for the Oncology Nursing Forum and Journal of Advanced Practitioner in Oncology, as well as an editor of the HPNA Core Curriculum for LPN/LVN Hospice and Palliative Nurse.

Debi is an oncology clinical nurse specialist at the University of California Irvine Medical Center Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. Prior to joining UC Irvine, she was a project leader in Geriatric Oncology and Survivorship in the Nursing Studies Program of Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center, in Phoenix. At Banner Good Samaritan, she also worked as a practice outcomes nurse specialist and magnet coordinator, and was instrumental in the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) designation of Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center as a Magnet Hospital. Debi received an Associate's degree in nursing from Orange County Community College, State University of New York, a baccalaureate degree in health education from Southern Connecticut State University, and an MS in nursing from Yale University. She has received numerous awards from the Oncology Nursing Society, and in 2010 was the March of Dimes Arizona Chapter Distinguished Nurse of the Year. In 1999, she was inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, in recognition of her advocacy in the areas of cancer survivorship, geriatric oncology, psychosocial needs of cancer patients and their families, and the role of the advanced practice nurse in cancer care. She is a frequent lecturer throughout the US and abroad, and is the author of nearly 200 publications. She has published three books, most recently <i>Self-Healing Through Reflection: A Workbook for Nurses</i> (with Nancy Jo Bush) and <i>Nurturance for Nurses: Reflections for Compassionate Healers</i>. Debi loves to travel, read, and has a passion for both for writing and her Shih Tzu, Otis.

Michelle Bragazzi is a dedicated oncology professional with more than 16 years of adult oncology clinical experience within hospital and research settings. She has an Associate of Science in Nursing from The University of Toledo and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Lourdes College and has dedicated her time teaching undergraduate students. She is also a Graduate Candidate pursuing a Master's in Health and Education at The University of Toledo. Her mission as an oncology professional and as Community Editor for UBM Medica is to promote excellence in oncology nursing. This can be achieved with effective communication, education, research, and ongoing psychosocial support for the oncology nurse. Michelle can be reached at michelle.bragazzi@ubm.com.

A native of New York, Cathy completed her undergraduate degree in Biology at Rutgers University in New Jersey, Nurse Practitioner training in Women's Health from Harbor-UCLA, and her Master's degree from CSU, Northridge, in Community Health Education. She is certified in both clinical breast examination and nurse navigation. Her comprehensive background in breast health includes work with UCLA in mobile mammography services; Department of Public Health Services, Sacramento, Calif., in provider education and in breast cancer and standardized clinical skill development; and the City of Hope Women's Center as part of a multidisciplinary breast care team.  Cathy currently works at the Los Robles Hospital and Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, Calif., as a nurse navigator and is involved in program development of a new breast program for the hospital. Her academic interests include early detection strategies with breast imaging, clinical skill building in breast examination, and community health outreach. She appears in <i>Who's Who in American Nursing</i>, 6th Edition.

Cathy is a member of the California Association of Nurse Practitioners, the American Public Health Association, and the National Consortium of Breast Centers. She serves on the Boards of the American Cancer Society of the Silicon/Coastal Region, the Advisory Board of the Conejo Free Clinic, and the National Consortium of Breast Centers where she also chairs the Clinical Breast Examination Committee. She was recently honored with other colleagues in receiving the 2012 NCBC Impact Award for the creation of educational videos in breast health for men and women. Cathy has authored a number of publications and delivered oral presentations around the country with regard to breast cancer, survivorship issues, and breast center development. She lives in Thousand Oaks with her husband Larry and their two cats, Zachary and Isadora.

Dianna received her Diploma in Nursing from Akron General Medical Center in 1973 and worked the Oncology Unit one year later when it opened up as a new specialty unit.  Through the years, she worked part time in many different areas including post partum, home healthcare, and even nursing home care. She became a Certified Case Manager in 1998 and returned to Oncology that same year as a Coordinator of Oncology Care. She received her Oncology Certification in 2000.  Since that time the name of her job has changed, with the most recent title being Nurse Navigator.  However the focus of coordination of patient-focused oncology care across the continuum of care has not changed.  Dianna's role has been to facilitate and coordinate care, refer to community resources, and provide educational, social, and emotional support. Recently her role has been expanded to include Palliative Care. One thing she has learned is "The Power of Presence."

Debi Habyan Geotis has worked within the Specialty Pharmacy Industry for the last 8 years of her 30 year nursing career focusing on oncology.  Prior to that, she worked for Orlando Regional Health in Orlando Florida, managing the clinical programs with an emphasis on cardiology and oncology in home health care.    As an independent clinical consultant she has contracted with Shoppers Drug Mart in Canada, IVPCare in Texas, McKesson Specialty Pharmacy, Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy, MedSolutions, and US Bioservices creating clinical tools in disease management.  She is presently working at Walgreens as Clinical Director within the clinical office headquartered in Chicago.

She has also researched and developed clinical tools with branching logic to assess patient status, QOL and at risk patients in oncology. She has worked with oral chemotherapy and how to manage these patients at home; and has studied the outcomes of a medication therapy management programs measuring clinical issues, interventions and the resulting outcomes placing value on patient care, cost and delivery of services.

Debi lives in Port St. Lucie Florida, has a Bachelors degree in Nursing from Florida Southern College, and a Masters Degree in Nursing from the University of Phoenix. She is a member of ONS.

Kathleen is a registered nurse and has a BSN from the University of Texas at Arlington. She has worked as a Hematology/Oncology/Bone Marrow Transplant Nurse for over 25 years at Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas. In 2005 she received a CPON-certified Pediatric Oncology Nurse certification. She is a charge nurse and continues to work on the unit administering chemotherapy and biotherapy to children of all ages. The unit also treats cancer in adults who have a childhood-type cancer. In addition to nursing, Kathleen owns and operates a small ranch south of Fort Worth, raising and breeding Herefords and growing hay. She has three grown children and three grandchildren and is a board member and auxiliary member of her local fire department. 

Linda is a clinical nurse specialist specializing in palliative care. She was part of an in-patient palliative care consultation team at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles for over 20 years where she provided palliative and end-of-life care services to patients. Prior positions included oncology manager as well as psychiatric clinical nurse specialist. With a background in oncology as well as psychiatric nursing she brings skills from both of these fields into her palliative care specialty. She is co-author/editor of several books including: Psychosocial Nursing Care Along the Cancer Continuum, published by Oncology Nursing Press, which received the AJN Book of the year award in 2007 in psychiatric/mental health nursing: Psychosocial Nursing for General Patient Care, which received the AJN Book of the Year Award in 2008 in psychiatric/mental health nursing; and Compendium of Treatment of End Stage Non-Cancer Diagnoses: Renal, published in 2005 (2nd edition in press). Linda served on the Board of Directors of the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association from 2000-2006 and served as President in 2005. She is a lecturer and consultant in the field of palliative care. A graduate of UCLA School of Nursing for her Master's degree, she was named one of 60 Distinguished Alumnus in 2009.

Nicole has been a nurse for 14 years and has worked in a variety of settings, including telemetry, long-term care, medical-surgical nursing, and now oncology. She now works in a community hospital as a cancer nurse navigator, helping patients adjust to the cancer diagnosis and identify and meeting their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. She works full time and is currently going to school online for her BSN, with hopes of pursuing a MSN thereafter. She is a proud wife and mother with two boys, ages six and eight.  Nicole and her husband spent time living and working in New York City, witnessing 9/11 first-hand, and actively try to keep the cultural diversity and adventurous spirit of living in a big city alive for their children, even though they now live in a small Midwest town. 

A graduate of the University of Iowa College of Nursing (BSN and MA) and the University of Texas Medical Branch Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (PhD), Pamela J. (PJ) Haylock has held staff, management, teaching and consultation roles. She is CEO of the Association for Vascular Access, a professional association that promotes excellence in vascular access practice and care for people requiring short- and long-term vascular access.

PJ is past-president of the Oncology Nursing Society. She has served as Consumer Representative to the FDA's Oncologic Drug Advisory Committee and, in 2011, was elected to the Board of Directors of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. In addition to many peer reviewed professional publications, Dr. Haylock's trade publications include Women's Cancers: How to Prevent Them, How to Treat Them, How to Beat Them (with Kerry A. McGinn), Cancer Doesn't Have to Hurt (with Carol P. Curtiss), and Men's Cancers: How to Prevent Them, How to Treat Them, How to Beat Them.

Dr. Haylock received the Distinguished Alumni Award for Service from the University of Iowa College of Nursing and a Distinguished Alumni Award for Achievement from the University of Iowa Alumni Association.

Ann graduated from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, with a BA in Psychology (1976) and a Master of Education in Counseling (1978). She relocated to Georgia and began working in adult and adolescent psychiatry while working on a nursing degree at DeKalb Community College (now Georgia Perimeter College); she obtained her RN license in 1983. Ann continued working in the field of psychiatry for about 10 years, then became a Red Cross nurse in blood services as a staff development instructor. Her transition to oncology came after encountering a hospice nurse. She has worked for the in-patient oncology unit at Northside Hospital in Atlanta and, for the past seven years, she has been a Clinical Research Coordinator for Peachtree Hematology-Oncology Consultants.

Michael Kaufman has worked as a writer and editor in medical publishing and communications for more than 25 years. He got his start at one of the first established medical news publishing companies in the United States, Academy Professional Information Services (APIS) in New York City, as editor of Dermatology News. He went on to serve as managing editor of Oncology News and other periodicals and news bulletins covering a wide range of therapeutic areas, such as mycology, psychiatry, cardiology, infectious diseases, and primary care. As executive editor at Med Publishing, a division of the Medical Economics Company, Michael spearheaded the launch of Contemporary Oncology. Later, as editorial director at Mediphacs, he led a team of science writers providing editorial support for clinician authors of articles for top-tier oncology journals. More recently, as senior project editor at Haymarket, he was recognized for his editorial acumen in producing quality continuing medical education programs.  Michael has covered major national and international medical meetings in the United States, Canada, Western Europe, and Japan, including the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting. In 2011, he covered the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) and the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) for CancerNetwork.com. He attended the State University of New York at New Paltz; Fordham University in the Bronx, N.Y.; and Cambridge-Goddard Graduate School in Cambridge, Mass.

Jess received her MSN and PhD in nursing from the University of Virginia. Prior to nursing, she received her BS in Biology from Wake Forest University and her MS in Public Health Sciences from the University of Virginia. She has worked as an oncology clinical trials nurse and as a staff nurse in the Pediatric ICU. Her dissertation focused on young adults with cancer. Jess also has interests in health disparities in cancer, palliative, and end of life care, as well as cancer on the global scale. She currently works as an Assistant Professor at the University of Virginia's School of Nursing and teaches both in the undergraduate and graduate programs. She enjoys running and exercise, the outdoors, and cooking with her husband. She can be reached at: jesskeim@gmail.com.

Monica is a California native but grew up in Chicago. She now lives in Louisville, Ky. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Bellarmine University and continued her education to earn her Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Louisville as an Adult Nurse Practitioner. She has an extensive nursing background that includes oncology, palliative care, telemetry, medical-surgical, intensive care, emergency nursing, and case management. She is currently certified in critical care nursing. Monica has earned many local and national awards for her tireless work in healthcare and community service. She is most proud of her volunteer work for the Brain Injury Alliance of Kentucky, where she and her husband are active volunteers.

Anne is a lifelong New Yorker, born at St. Vincent's Hospital in Greenwich Village. She holds an AB in biology from Mount Holyoke College and an MS in journalism from Columbia University School of Journalism. She has been a medical editor for more than 20 years. In addition to oncology, she has worked on content covering infectious disease, diabetes, urology, surgical complications, HIV/AIDS, critical care nursing, and women's health. Her only non-editorial employment was work as a research assistant in cardiac physiology at The Rockefeller University and as a science writer in the department of public affairs at the American Museum of Natural History (where she met her husband, an entomologist).

Anne currently works as a writer/editor with The Oncology Group of UBM Medica. She is Executive Editor of the PubMed-indexed journal, ONCOLOGY Nurse Edition, and an editor for the monthly journal ONCOLOGY and the annually updated handbook, Cancer Management: A Multidisciplinary Approach. She has also worked on a variety of special projects for The Oncology Group, including slide presentations, supplements, monographs, custom newsletters, and video interviews. Her freelance experience includes book and journal article editing, editing of content for a nonmedical Website, and writing disease-specific pamphlets for patients. Anne enjoys listening to music (all kinds, but especially early music and the blues) and reading (especially cookbooks and books about architecture, early photography, and "Old New York").

Nancy Ledoyen graduated from San Jose State University, Calif., with a Bachelor's degree in nursing and psychology. She has worked in a variety of settings taking care of patients with cancer and holds national certifications in oncology and breast care nursing. She helped developed the Enloe Regional Cancer Center in Chico, Calif., where she spent 15 years and served as Director for Oncology, Hospice and Integrative Care. More recently, she was Operations Manager for Hematology and Oncology at Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz. Nancy joined Yuma Regional Medical Center (YRMC) in January 2012 as Clinical Navigator for the Breast Care Center.

Katherine has a Bachelor's degree in nursing from the University of Iowa and a Master's in English from the University of New Mexico. She has been certified in oncology nursing since 1992, and her career includes bone marrow transplant, hospice, and out-patient chemotherapy infusion.  Katherine is passionate about caring for people and balancing life with career, family, and adventure.  "My goal is to care for my co-workers as well as I care for my patients."

Carole McCue holds a full-time faculty position in an associate degree nursing program outside of New York City. She earned her nursing diploma at the Cochran School of Nursing and her BSc and MSc degrees at Pace University in Pleasantville, N.Y. With over 40 years of experience in nursing, she has achieved national certifications in her specialty areas of intensive care nursing (CCRN), quality improvement (CPHQ), and nursing education (CNE). She has served as a Chief Nursing Officer of an acute care facility and has authored publications and presented at national conferences. She recently faced the biggest challenge of her life with a diagnosis of cancer and is an active advocate for cancer patients and their families.

Rachel Odo is a clinical social worker with a specialty in acute, chronic, and life-threatening illness.  She works as a consultant, lecturing and presenting workshops on a range of topics for healthcare professionals, patients, and caregivers.  She serves as a moderator for the online services of CancerCare Inc., where she has facilitated online support groups for gynecologic cancer patients, colorectal cancer patients, pancreatic cancer caregivers, men with cancer, and the bereaved. She worked for many years at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City in a variety of settings, including in-patient hematology and thoracic services, the out-patient hematology clinic, and the Post-Treatment Resource Program where she developed psycho-educational services for caregivers, men with cancer, young adult cancer survivors, head and neck, genitourinary, and brain tumor survivors. While there, she also facilitated support groups for nursing staff and the medical interns who comprised the rotating house staff.  In addition to her work in oncology, she has experience with the mentally ill, the homeless, substance users, and HIV-positive patients.  Ms. Odo received her undergraduate degree in psychology from Columbia University and her Master of Social Work from New York University.  She lives in Brooklyn, NY and can be reached at rachel_odo@yahoo.com.

Julianna Paradisi is a staff oncology nurse in an ambulatory clinic in Portland, Ore. She graduated in 1987 with an Associate Degree in Nursing from a Los Angeles community college. She worked in Pediatric and Neonatal Critical Care Units of Level I Trauma Centers the first 15 years of her career, earning PALS, NALS, and pediatric CCRN certifications.

In 2001, Julianna transitioned to adult oncology, after treatment for breast cancer, and returned to school: Pacific Northwest College of Art, fulfilling a childhood dream. Today, she is a multimedia artist, finding inspiration "where science, humanity, and art converge." Her artwork has appeared in numerous shows in Oregon and Washington, besides several publications, including the American Journal of Nursing, and Scrubs Magazine. She authors the blog, J Paradisi RN. Her stories, "Icarus Again" and "Voyagers," were published in the anthology, New Lives: Nurses' Stories about Caring for Babies, and an essay, "The Wisdom of Nursery Rhymes," appeared in the February 2011 issue of the American Journal of Nursing.

Julianna describes herself as "Every Nurse, with a strong drive towards self-expression." For TheONC, she blogs about creativity and the pursuit of it in the busy life of an oncology nurse.

Alayne had a varied nursing background in clinical nursing before commencing in oncology/haematology 24 years ago. She has been employed at the Mater Adult Hospital, Brisbane, Australia, in the Division of Cancer, since 1990, and has been the cancer nurse educator for the last 14 years. As a dedicated cancer nurse, she believes that integrated cancer care (including complementary therapies) is the key to holistic care, providing supportive treatments to enable the person to cope with the medical treatments offered in traditional westernized society. Professionally, Alayne is: an executive member of the Oncology Nurses Group of Queensland; chair of the Education Committee of the CNSA (Cancer Nurses Society of Australia); an active participant in writing for eviQ (Cancer Institute NSW) and Cancer Australia, helping to develop education programs for nurses caring for people with cancer; and a member of the ONS (Oncology Nursing Society of USA). A strong believer in the role of the nurse in the management of cancer patients, she is dedicated to helping nurses develop skills to enable them to care for patients throughout the whole continuum of the health-disease cancer trajectory. The main focus is to implement innovative strategies to ensure cancer nursing education is clinically relevant, of high quality, and accessible to nursing staff.

Amy has more than 20 years experience as a Registered Nurse and more than five years as an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse. Prior to joining The James, Amy held numerous Registered Nursing positions in hospitals, colleges, and government in Ohio. She was the Practice Consultant for the Ohio Board of Nursing and was the Breast Health Nurse for Blanchard Valley Health System. She joined The James in 2008 to specifically work with the breast cancer program. She received a Master of Science in Nursing in family and community nursing from Capital University, a Master of Arts in Lay Ministry from Trinity Lutheran Seminary, a Baccalaureate of Science in Nursing from Bowling Green State University, and an Associate Degree in Nursing at Rhodes State Community College. Amy was also the founder of Special Kids Therapy Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to helping children with special health care needs and their families get funding for therapies that were not covered by state and private insurance. As a Clinical Nurse Specialist, she works to bring the breast cancer team together through direct patient care, staff education, and system-wide initiatives. The Breast Channel (TBC) is one program she developed that affects all areas of the care for breast cancer patients.

Krista Rubin is a nurse practitioner in the Melanoma Disease Center in the oncology and dermatology departments at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. She is an oncology and dermatology nurse specialist providing clinical care to patients with advanced melanoma and research management for patients on melanoma clinical trials. She also provides skin cancer screening for patients and their families in the Pigmented Lesion Clinic. Krista lectures internationally, has published regularly on the topic of melanoma skin cancer, and was the 2010 recipient of the Oncology Nursing Society's Excellence in Cancer Prevention and Early Detection Award. She is the current chair of the Dermatology Nurses Association's Skin Cancer Committee and served as the lead in the development of the Skin Cancer Web Course for the Oncology Nursing Society. She has consulted for numerous pharmaceutical companies in the toxicity management of multiple agents used in the treatment of advanced melanoma. Her greatest feat is being the mother of adorable, seven-year-old twin boys (redheads at that).

Lori Smith is a Gynecologic Oncology Nurse Practitioner at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center's Jordan Center for Gynecologic Cancers within the Abramson Cancer Center in Philadelphia. She received her BSN from Wilkes University in 2003 and went on to complete her MSN at the University of Pennsylvania in 2006. She worked as a staff nurse from 2003 through 2006 at which time she transitioned to providing outpatient care to gynecologic oncology patients as a Nurse Practitioner. She currently leads her department's Survivorship Program, which is part of the Living Well After Cancer Program (LWAC), a part of the LIVESTRONG^TM Survivorship Center of Excellence Network. She is a certified nurse colposcopist and serves as a co-PI on several ovarian cancer immunotherapy clinical trials. In addition, she lectures by invitation, has had a televised appearance discussing gyn/onc survivorship, and has published articles and text discussing gynecologic malignancies and side-effect management.  

Katherine Trip MN, NP is employed at University Health Network in Toronto, Ontario and holds an academic appointment at the University of Toronto, Lawrence S. Bloomberg, Faculty of Nursing.

She obtained her undergraduate degree at Ryerson University in Toronto and her MN at the University of Toronto.

Katherine was instrumental in setting up the stem cell collection unit and the urgent care oncology program at Princess Margaret Hospital within University Health Network. Her professional interests include patient safety, interprofessional collaboration and oncologic emergencies.

Kathy chose cancer nursing in 2000 after realizing that other specialty fields were not for her. She has worked in a general oncology ward in a metropolitan hospital as a nurse manager of a private hospital chemotherapy clinic and as a nurse in a research unit. Currently, she is a cancer care coordinator – a role that involves linking patients and families with services and improving access to services. Kathy has Graduate Certification in Cancer Nursing and a Graduate Diploma in Science in Medicine (Pain Management). She works in a regional city of about 104,000 people where the major metropolitan services are about three hours away. Her work brings her into contact with patients who have gynecological, urological, skin, and CNS tumors. Her professional interests lie in adolescent/young adult cancers, technology in cancer care, and survivorship issues. One of her biggest bugbears is poor communication and how this impacts patient outcomes.

Sharon has been a registered nurse since 1991. She graduated from Paris Junior College in Paris, Texas, in 1991 with an Associate Nursing Degree and received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas, in 2005.  Sharon spent 14 years in critical care, six years in stem cell transplant, and is currently in Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery as a clinical nurse at M D Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.  She is a member of the AACN and ONS and is OCN certified. She lives in Pearland, Texas with her husband, Tim; four daughters, Amber, Rachel, Rebecca, and Katlyn; and two dogs, Gizmo and Jazzman.

Rachel Warren is the Editorial Director for the Oncology group at UBM Medica. She worked in scholarly scientific publishing for the past 18 years; for the last 6 in the field of oncology and cancer research. She has an undergraduate degree in Biochemistry and English from Connecticut College and attended the Science and Environmental Reporting journalism program at New York University. She lives in Brooklyn, NY with her husband and two sons.

Brenda received an Associate of Science in Nursing degree from Dalton State College in Dalton, Ga., and a Bachelors of Science in Nursing degree from the University of West Georgia in Carrollton. She worked in various areas of the nursing field before finding her passion in oncology, hospice, and palliative care. Brenda has a BLS and ACLS with the American Heart Association, Chemotherapy Course with the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS), Certificate in End of Life Care, Georgia Health Partnership – Train the Trainer, Certificate for ELNEC-Core Training Course, Cancer Care Nurse Navigator Course, Certificate for Pain Resource Nurse Training, Education Techniques in Palliative Care at CAPC Campus Online, and Certificate for End Stage Diseases: Care When There is No Cure. She is also a Clinical Instructor for first-year, first semester RN students.

I am one of the Community Editors here at TheONC. My background includes over 7 years of writing experience within healthcare. I have written in several therapeutic categories, specifically in oncology, I've written for breast, GIST, radiation dermatitis, and xerostomia. I have a passion for healthcare providers and desire to help them improve patient outcomes through community and conversation.

I have an English degree from Washington State University. In addition to having several pharmaceutical advertising awards, I am also an award-winning fiction writer and screenwriter. Currently, I live in Raleigh, North Carolina with my daughter. I can be reached at stephanie.wiseman@ubm.com.

Helene Zonder is an oncology nurse practitioner employed in the medical oncology department at City of Hope Medical Center in Duarte, Calif. She received her master's degree in nursing from the University of California, Los Angeles and is a member of the Oncology Nursing Society, the North American Menopause Society, and the American Society of Clinical Oncology. She is a collaborating investigator on the "Long Term Follow-Up After Breast Cancer" protocol for newly diagnosed breast cancer patients, and she has an active clinical practice within medical oncology, seeing breast cancer patients from diagnosis through survivorship.  She recently presented a poster at the 2011 San Antonio Breast Conference, "Barriers to Enrollment in Therapeutic Clinical Trials," and has been invited to speak at the National Consortium of Breast Center's 22^nd  Annual National Interdisciplinary Breast Center Conference taking place March 10-14, 2012 in Las Vegas.