EONS19 opened in Madrid on Saturday, 24 October, bringing cancer nursing into focus through a programme exploring workforce development, advances in care and the needs of patients and families.
Under the theme “Equitable and Sustainable Care: The Ever-Evolving Cancer Nursing Workforce”, the first day of EONS19 at ESMO Congress 2026 connected research, clinical practice and policy.
Opening with innovation and sustainable caring
The opening session included welcomes from EONS President Wendy McInally, ESMO’s Fabrice André and Nerea Elizondo from the Spanish Oncology Nursing Society (SEEO).
Andreas Charalambous delivered the keynote on the potential of artificial intelligence and technological advances to improve cancer care outcomes. Alongside this, Ebru Akgün Citak explored compassionate endurance and sustainable caring, examining why some oncology nurses do not experience burnout. The session also featured the Novice Research Dissemination Award presentation by Esra Nur Erdogan, focusing on AI-supported symptom management education and counselling.
Supporting the cancer nursing workforce
Workforce development was a central focus, with sessions covering genomic literacy, education, career development and workforce retention. Contributions also explored nurses’ role in influencing policy, experiences of compassion fatigue and the development of clinical nurse specialist roles.
Together, these topics highlighted the importance of investing in nurses’ knowledge, professional development and wellbeing as cancer care continues to evolve.
Collaboration across the cancer care pathway
The ESMO–EONS collaborative session addressed policy development to reduce diagnostic delay in young people up to the age of 39. Bringing together clinical, advocacy and lived-experience perspectives, the programme explored young adults’ needs, cancer awareness and diagnostic efficiency.
The MASCC–EONS session focused on multidisciplinary supportive care, including nurse fellowship projects and approaches to making care more sustainable and equitable.
Keeping patients and families at the centre
Afternoon sessions explored prevention, early detection and health promotion, including mental health, physical activity, infection prevention and oral cancer screening.
Palliative and advanced cancer care discussions considered what matters to patients and families: everyday quality of life, communication when a parent has incurable cancer, caregivers’ experiences and the role of patients’ wishes and values in shared decision making.
The rapid-fire research session added further perspectives on nurse-led care, caregiver support, patient information needs and oncology nurse wellbeing. Industry symposia complemented the programme with practical topics including safe treatment delivery, subcutaneous immunotherapy, treatment-induced menopause and multidisciplinary precision care.
Connecting beyond the sessions
The day concluded with EONS19: Passport to Madrid, an opportunity for participants to connect beyond the conference rooms through teamwork, discovery and networking.
Thank you to all speakers, chairs, participants and partners who contributed to the opening day of EONS19.