This is the fourth book in a series devoted to research and practice in palliative care. This rapidly evolving field focuses on the management of phenomena that produce discomfort and that undermine the quality of life of patients with incurable medical disorders. To highlight the diversity in this field, each volume is divided into sections that address a range of issues. Various sections discuss aspects of symptom control, psyshosocial functioning, spiritual or existential concerns, ethics, and other topics. The 4 sections in this volume are Survial Estimation in Palliative Care, Education and Training in Palliative Care, Procoagulant and Anticoagulant Therapy in Palliative Care, and Issues in the Assessment and Management of Common Symptoms. The authors present and evaluate existing data, provide a context drawn from both the clinic and research, and integrate knowledge in a manner that is both practical and readable.

Russell K. Portenoy's profile page

Eduardo Bruera's profile page

Russell Portenoy is at Beth Israel Medical Center, NY. Eduardo Bruera is at Grey Nuns Community Health Center and the Cross Cancer Institute, Edmonton, currently Director, Dept. of Symptom Control and Palliative Care, University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston.

"The editors succeeded in including leaders in the fields, and the book offers diverse perspectives and beliefs about palliative care. There are some important strengths, precisely for the reasons we expected: the editors' understanding of where the field has been, its current struggles, and where we will go. This book provides insight to how we will get there.--Respiratory Care, May 2002

"This volume, in fact the entire series, is an essential addition to the library of all palliative care clinicians. In this volume cogent analyses of the rapidly expanding body of literature are provided, with practical translation for clinical practice. Furthermore, the frequency of publication ensures the immediacy of the information. As with any publication, a few limitations exist. First, additional figures would clarify more complex concepts. Second, the emphasis in this volume remains primarily on cancer, but expanding the disease focus to other incurable illnesses is critical. Finally, future volumes might benefit from the inclusion of a table of contents of previous volumes, as well as a list of future topics planned for inclusion. Notwithstanding these suggestions, this book is indispensable for any palliative care physician." --Doody's

"The authors present and evaluate data, provide a context drawn from both the clinical and research laboratory, and integrate knowledge in a practical and reliable manner."--Annals, March 2001