Radiating Care: The Nurse’s Role in Guiding Patients Through Radiation for Head and Neck Cancers

The care of patients receiving radiation therapy for head and neck cancers concurrently with chemotherapy can be disjointed due to different departments performing a piece of the treatment plan, but the common thread is nursing care. While most oncology nurses are familiar with the side effects of chemotherapy and their management, the same cannot be said about radiation therapy. Continued education on these treatment modalities for the non-radiation oncology nurse is essential to providing effective and compassionate care to head and neck cancer patients undergoing complex treatments.

Target Audience

This program is designed to meet the educational needs of oncology nurses who treat people with cancer.

Learning Objectives

Following this activity, participants should be able to:

  • Discuss the radiation treatment modalities used in head and neck cancers.    
  • Review the most common side effects associated with radiation therapy in head and neck cancers. 
  • Apply nursing interventions to best support patients receiving radiation therapy for head and neck cancers.
Additional information
Supporters: 

This activity is supported by educational grants from:

  • AstraZeneca
  • Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.
  • Novartis

This activity is supported through independent educational grants from:

  • Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA
  • Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Supported by a grant from Pfizer Inc.

This educational activity is supported by an independent medical education grant from GSK.

Course summary
Available credit: 
  • 0.75 ANCC contact hours
  • 0.75 Participation
Course opens: 
06/15/2026
Course expires: 
03/01/2027
Part of: 
Recorded Presentations from the NCCN 2026 Nursing Program: Advancing Oncology Nursing™
Rochelle Jackson, DNP, APRN, FNP-C
UT Southwestern Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center
 
NCCN Continuing Education Disclosure Policy
 
It is the policy of NCCN that all planners, faculty, moderators, authors, reviewers and anyone involved in the planning and delivery of NCCN continuing education activities are expected to disclose ALL financial relationships they have had in the past 24 months with ineligible companies. The ACCME Standards for Integrity and Independence require that individuals who refuse to provide this information will be disqualified from involvement in the planning and implementation of accredited continuing education presented by NCCN. NCCN identifies, mitigates and discloses to learners all relevant financial relationships.
 
In addition, all content has been reviewed to ensure education promotes safe, effective patient care and does not promote the products or services of an ineligible company. Content, including any presentation of therapeutic options, is fair, balanced, evidence-based, scientifically accurate, and free of commercial bias and marketing. 
 
Definitions  
 
Ineligible Company: An ineligible company is any entity whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients. 
 
Relevant Financial Relationships: Financial relationships of any dollar amount occurring within the past 24 months are defined as relevant if the educational content an individual can control is related to the business lines or products of an ineligible company. There is no minimum financial threshold. We ask for disclosure of ALL financial relationships with ineligible companies, regardless of the amount and regardless of the potential relevance of each relationship to the education.
 
Faculty Disclaimers  
 
All faculty for this continuing education activity are competent in the subject matter and qualified by experience, training, and/or preparation for the tasks and methods of delivery. Faculty presentations may include discussion of off-label use. Faculty will disclose that the use in question is not currently approved by the FDA per the product labeling or marketing.
 
Faculty Disclosures
 
The faculty listed below have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose.
 
Rochelle Jackson, DNP, APRN, FNP-C
Amanda E. Visnick, RN, BSN, OCN (Nursing Program Moderator) 
 
NCCN Staff Disclosures
 
None of the planners for this educational activity have relevant financial relationship(s) to disclose with ineligible companies whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients.
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In support of improving patient care, National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

Nurses: NCCN designates this educational activity for a maximum of 0.75 contact hour.

Available Credit

  • 0.75 ANCC contact hours
  • 0.75 Participation
Please login or register to take this course.

Required Hardware/software

To complete this activity, users will need: 

  • A device with an Internet connection and sound playback capability (speakers or a headset) 
  • Adobe Reader or other PDF reader software for certificate viewing/printing