ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Elaine S. DeMeyer, RN, MSN, AOCN Elaine DeMeyer has been an oncology nurse for twenty years. She received her first bachelor degree in physiology with a minor in chemistry (1985) from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. Both her bachelor of nursing degree (1986) and Master of Science in nursing (1990) were received from St. Louis University. Elaine's expertise in oncology care was mostly gained from her clinical experience as an advanced practice nurse at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. She also holds a clinical faculty appointment at Louise Harrington School of Nursing at Baylor University. Elaine is a certified advanced practice nurse (AOCN). Currently, she is president and CEO of Creative Cancer Concepts, Inc. Elaine is the recipient of the Josh Gothleil Bone Marrow Transplant Career Development Award for excellence in practice. She has mentored numerous nurses in practice, lecturing, and writing. She was selected for two mentorship/fellowship awards from the Oncology Nursing Society and the Clinical Journal of Nursing. Elaine has given over 100 national lectures on the immune system, novel cancer therapies, and symptom management. She has served as an oncology consultant and medical writer to numerous teaching hospitals and pharmaceutical/biotech companies. Her nursing research includes topics such as fatigue, quality of life, pain, and growth factor injection techniques for which she received the ONS Amgen Research Grant Award. Elaine is best known for her creativity in education. Her gift is in using original and inspiring ideas to teach difficult immunology concepts for application to today's novel cancer agents and to better understand the disease and treatment process. She upholds a high ethical and moral value system to promote, motivate and inspire nursing. Elaine's greatest joy is spending time with her two children, Stephanie and Philip.