In this episode, CANCER BUZZ speaks with Andrew Munchel, MSN, RN, OCN, CPHQ, quality program administrator, oncology service line at WellSpan Health, WellSpan Cancer Institute about his program’s receipt of a 2025 ACCC Innovator Award. WellSpan Cancer Institute’s innovation, Adopting Machine Learning-Enabled Decision Support to Improve Oncology End-of-Life Outcomes, involved the implementation of the End-of-Life Care Index, a machine learning and cognitive computing model that predicts 12-month mortality risk, into the cancer program’s clinical decision support tool. Driven by a desire to address the underutilization of palliative care, Munchel will discuss how this implementation enhanced both the efficiency and effectiveness of WellSpan Cancer Institute’s care delivery.

Andrew Munchel, MSN, RN, OCN, CPHQ
Quality Program Administrator, Oncology Service Line
WellSpan Health, WellSpan Cancer Institute
York, Pennsylvania

“Our innovation looked at how [we could] better predict who is most likely to benefit from [palliative care] conversations, queue them up, and have them at the appropriate times to link those patients to palliative care.”

This podcast is part of a special series featuring the 2025 ACCC Innovator Award winners. For a deeper dive into this topic and other content that will help your team reimagine how care is delivered at your cancer program or practice, register today for the ACCC 42nd National Oncology Conference, October 15-17 in Denver, Colorado.

Resources:

Spirituality and Cultural Humility: Core Components of Comprehensive Palliative Care

Collaborative Care: A Model for Embedding Counseling in Oncology and Palliative Care

Building a Palliative Care Program from the Inside Out

Early Palliative Care Program Proactively Meets Patient Needs

Genetic factors play a critical role in prostate cancer treatment planning, with both germline and somatic mutations guiding therapeutic decisions. The Association of Cancer Care Centers (ACCC) remains committed to improving prostate cancer care and has developed the Metastatic Prostate Cancer Handbook: A Guide to Optimizing Outcomes with Germline and Somatic Testing. In this episode, CANCER BUZZ speaks with Andrea Murphy, FNP-C, ACGN, CGRA, genetics nurse practitioner at Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center and Amy D. Smith, FNP-BC, director at Meredith & Jeannie Ray Cancer Center, about the impact this handbook has had on patient care delivery, measuring success during the pilot program, and recommendations for sustaining germline and somatic mutation testing in clinical practice.

“I think a lot of people were surprised, definitely with germline testing, that all metastatic patients met the criteria [for testing]…”– Andrea (Ani) Murphy, FNP-C, ACGN, CGRA

“The other thing that the [hand]book did is [give] us a good outline on what our deficiencies were, where we wanted to go with testing...and just pretty much set it up so that it was easy for us to follow.” – Amy D. Smith, NP-BC

“Overall, I think the handbook could give anybody the guidance that they need to set up their own program.” – Amy D. Smith, NP-BC

Andrea (Ani) Murphy, FNP-C, ACGN, CGRA

Nurse Practitioner – Genetics

Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center

Baton Rouge, LA

Amy D. Smith, FNP-BC

Director

Meredith & Jeannie Ray Cancer Center

Ivinson Memorial Hospital

Laramie, Wyoming

Resources:

ACCC Metastatic Prostate Cancer Handbook: A Guide to Optimizing Outcomes with Germline and Somatic Testing

Understanding the Uptake and Challenges of Genetic Testing Guidelines for Prostate Cancer

NCCN Guidelines and Frameworks for Prostate Cancer

ACCC Prostate Cancer Resources

Navigating the growing complexity of bladder cancer care is essential to improving patient access and treatment closer to home. In this episode, CANCER BUZZ speaks with Suzanne Merrill, MD, urologic oncologist at Colorado Urology about barriers and solutions to delivering high-quality bladder cancer care in community settings. CANCER BUZZ also speaks with Patrick Hensley, MD, urologist at University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center, about implementing the Delivering High-Quality Bladder Cancer Care infographic in the community setting. Created by ACCC and BCAN, the infographic describes the 10 elements of excellent bladder cancer care. Cancer programs that align their practices with these guidelines can join a public registry so that patients and caregivers can identify quality bladder cancer care close to where they live.

“The best strategies and tools to deliver high quality bladder cancer care out in the community lie first and foremost with having a bladder cancer clinician. It could be a urologist, it could be a urologic oncologist, could even be a medical oncologist or a radiation oncologist...their discipline doesn't matter as much as [having] the core clinical expert that is excited and dedicated to developing and instituting a comprehensive bladder cancer program.” - Suzanne Merrill, MD, FACS

“Everybody assumes comprehensive care is being delivered at academic university settings, which it is, but there's so much...bladder cancer care being performed out in the community. So [the question is] how can we achieve comprehensive programs out in the community?” - Suzanne Merril, MD, FACS

“I think it's really important that subspecialists and community providers work together to streamline those referrals and anticipate when the patients are coming in and what their needs are going to be, from a procedural standpoint, imaging standpoint, etc, so that you can avoid some of those undue delays in diagnosis and treatment.” - Patrick Hensley, MD

Suzanne Merrill, MD, FACS
Urologic Oncologist
Colorado Urology
Aurora, CO

Patrick Hensley, MD
Urologist
Markey Cancer Center – Urology
University of Kentucky
Lexington, KY

Resources:

Infographic: Delivering High Quality Cancer Care in the Community

Addressing Disparities in Bladder Cancer Care

Understanding and Mitigating Disparities in Bladder Cancer Care

Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network (BCAN)

Funder Statement

This program is supported by Astellas Pfizer Alliance, EMD Serano, and Gilead.

Immune-related adverse events (AEs) are becoming more frequent in oncology patients receiving immunotherapy. To better understand emerging trends and education needs, the Association of Cancer Care Centers (ACCC) developed the Immuno-Oncology Census as part of its ongoing commitment to sharing up-to-date strategies for managing adverse events. In this episode, CANCER BUZZ speaks with Bat-ami Gordon, clinical research PhD candidate at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, who discusses best practices for cancer care providers to identify immune-related AEs caused by immunotherapy.

“Understanding the best practices for identification is going to be the best way we can start to implement better treatments for these immune-related adverse events.” – Bat-ami Gordon

Bat-ami Gordon

Clinical Research PhD Candidate

Icahn School of Medicine Mount Sinai

New York, NY  

Additional Reading/Sources  

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

ACCC Immune-Related Adverse Events Resources

Clinical Characteristics and Treatment of Immune-Related Adverse Events of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors

ACCC Immuno-Oncology Census

In this episode, CANCER BUZZ speaks with Ramy Sedhom, MD, section chief of medical oncology at Penn Medicine Princeton Health, Princeton Cancer Center about his program’s receipt of a 2025 ACCC Innovator Award. His team’s innovation, Implementing a Structured, Scalable Geriatric Oncology Program, paves the way for other programs to effectively integrate the use of geriatric assessments into routine clinical workflows, thus bridging a critical gap for older adults with cancer.

Ramy Sedhom, MD
Section Chief, Medical Oncology
Penn Medicine Princeton Health, Princeton Cancer Center
Plainsboro, New Jersey

“Precision oncology is not just about tailoring treatment of the cancer to its molecular characteristics, but really tailoring the treatment plan to the needs of our patients and [their] families.”

This podcast is part of a special series featuring the 2025 ACCC Innovator Award winners. For a deeper dive into this topic and other content that will help your team reimagine how care is delivered at your cancer program or practice, register today for the ACCC 42nd National Oncology Conference, October 15-17 in Denver, Colorado.

Resources:

New Geriatric Assessment Guide Gives Cancer Care Teams Tools to Help Aging Patients

Growing Need Demands New Approaches to Caring for Older Adults with Cancer

Multidisciplinary Approaches to Caring for Older Adults with Cancer

Geriatric Assessment: One Size Does Not Fit All

In this episode, CANCER BUZZ speaks with Katie Jones, FNP, MA, nurse practitioner for oncology and palliative care at Shaw Cancer Center, about her program’s receipt of a 2025 ACCC Innovator Award. Recognizing the urgent need for the expansion of palliative care services beyond the clinic setting, Shaw Cancer Center’s innovation, Shaw at Home: An Oncology Specific Home and Community-Based Palliative Care Program, bridges this critical gap in care by addressing the unmet needs of the patients in its community. Katie will discuss how the program has created a continuous transition of care between hospital and home, as well as continuity of care through end-of-life.

Katie Jones, FNP, MA
Nurse Practitioner, Oncology and Palliative Care

Vail Health, Shaw Cancer Center/ Shaw at Home

Edwards, Colorado

“It’s so different from seeing a patient in the clinic...to go to their home and see their family pictures on the wall, and see the things that are meaningful and valuable to them, and being in their own space. We learn so much about our patients during these visits.”

This podcast is part of a special series featuring the 2025 ACCC Innovator Award winners. For a deeper dive into this topic and other content that will help your team reimagine how care is delivered at your cancer program or practice, register today for the ACCC 42nd National Oncology Conference, October 15-17 in Denver, Colorado.

Resources:

Hospital Care Comes Home

Optimizing Cancer Care Delivery in 2022, Part 1

Home as a Site of Care for Acutely Ill Patients with Cancer

Building a Palliative Care Program from the Inside Out

Expanding access to clinical trials in community oncology settings is essential to improving diversity, equity, and inclusion in cancer research. In this episode, CANCER BUZZ speaks with clinical research coordinator, Oluwakemi “Kemi” Oladipupo, MSHS, MPH, BSN, RN, CCRP, whose cancer center recently participated in a foundational oncology clinical trials course, developed by ACCC and the Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP) to help cancer programs expand availability of trials to traditionally underserved communities. Oladipupo shares how this training prepared their center for the challenges of a growing research program, the progress they’ve made, and the pivotal role of clinical research coordinators in expanding research programs and improving patient access to clinical trials.

Oluwakemi “Kemi” Oladipupo, MSHS, MPH, BSN, RN, CCRP

Clinical Research Coordinator

Touro-Cancer Center

New Orleans, LA

“We know that diversity is a big point, not only as per new FDA guidance, but [to] ensure that every participant is given an equal opportunity to hear about the study. [Our] approach is not to target a certain group of individuals. Really the approach is to target any individual that looks potentially eligible.”

- Oluwakemi “Kemi” Oladipupo

Resources:

Community Oncology Can Close the Gap in Cancer Research

Increasing Clinical Trial Accrual Through the Implementation of a Clinical Trials Navigator

The Role of the Clinical Trials Navigator — [MINI PODCAST] EP 129

Human-Centered Design: A Possible Solution to Rural Clinical Trial Enrollment