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Compassion is a complex and multifaceted concept that has been explored from a range of cultural, philosophical, theological, and sociological perspectives. It can be considered a prerequisite for optimal health care, an expectation of the general public from their health care system, and a specific approach to care which should underpin the work of health care professionals globally. Given the nature of life-limiting illness and the challenges that shifting goals of care impose, the place of compassion as the underlying construct governing health care decisions would seem paramount. Yet there is an increasing concern-particularly in the UK media and recent reviews of clinical practices around end-of-life care-suggesting that somehow compassion has been lost as a governing principle of care giving. The reasons for this are not always clear, but increased clinical intervention, the over-professionalization of care, and lack of formal teaching on the topic of compassion are all indicated. Given the complex nature of care in advanced illness and life-limiting disease, the place of compassion within palliative and end-of-life care is worthy of further exploration to try to understand this phenomenon better. This book asks an international panel of expert palliative care practitioners to consider these issues for themselves and the discipline as we move into the 21st century. Through a series of interviews with some of the world’s experts in the field, the meaning, purpose, and outcome of providing compassionate care for palliative and end-of-life care is explored and critiqued. A critical commentary of themes raised by each contributor is discussed relative to the broader literature around the topic, and further reading and learning resources indicated for practitioners, educators, and students to follow up.Less

Providing an overview of pharmacology and prescribing advice, this second edition contains over 160 drug monographs, presented in an A-Z format. Fully revised and updated, this detailed yet concise resource will appeal to all healthcare professionals involved in the provision of palliative care and medicines information. Less

End of life care in the ICU presents its own unique challenges, and this resource highlights real clinical issues which need to be addressed if quality palliative care within ICUs is to be consistently delivered.Less

As cancer treatment has evolved toward precision medicine, psychosocial research and practices for cancer patients and their family members have also raised awareness of the need for a personalized, patient-focused, family-oriented approach in the psycho-oncology field. Gender in Psycho-Oncology is the first book of its kind to provide comprehensive views on the role of gender in the adjustment of the individual and the patient–caregiver pair when dealing with cancer. The text explores the significant role of gender in diverse pairings of genders between the patient and the caregiver. It also highlights the importance of age, generation, and sociocultural characteristics, as well as the illness trajectory and lifespan trajectory of the individual and the patient–caregiver pair, and an ongoing sociocultural movement that is changing social role expectations based on gender. Offering both fundamental and practical information, Gender in Psycho-Oncology is an ideal book for health care practitioners from a spectrum of disciplines in the psycho-oncology field.Less

The growing geriatric population has created an increasing need for palliative medicine services across the range of medical and surgical specialties, but palliative medicine lacks the resources to carry such a workload itself. This online resource addresses this need by encouraging individual specialties to address the management of the elderly with the same vigor as they address other key management competencies within their specialty. This clinically focused online resource encourages this process of learning and ownership across many medical specialties. It outlines specific strategies present is specific palliative care issues common in elderly patients, and also provides evidence-based advice for helping patients, relatives, and staff cope with such issues as polypharmacy, dementia and consent, multiple pathologies, home care, elderly caregivers, and supporting the elderly in the place where they would like to be.Less

Geriatric Psycho-Oncology is a comprehensive guide that provides best practice models for the management of psychological, cognitive, and social outcomes of older adults living with cancer and their families. Chapters cover a wide range of topics including screening tools and interventions, psychiatric emergencies and disorders, physical symptom management, communication issues, and issues specific to common cancer sites. A resource section is appended to provide information on national services and programs. This title features contributions from experts designed to help clinicians review, anticipate and respond to emotional issues that often arise in the context of treating older cancer patients. Numerous cross-references and succinct tables and figures make this concise reference easy to use.Less

Excellent end of life care for people with heart failure is challenging but possible. In easily digestible summaries, this resource presents practical advice about how and when to integrate a palliative care approach alongside standard heart failure management. Less

In the United States, the subspecialty of hospice and palliative medicine has seen rapid growth since it was recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties. During the past decade, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of palliative care programs and improved access to palliative and hospice for patients with life-limiting illness. There has also been an increase in the educational opportunities as well as growth of fellowship programs to train palliative care fellows. Unfortunately, there are limited study aids available for learning and retaining essential concepts in palliative care. Hospice and Palliative Medicine and Supportive Care Flashcards is a comprehensive, evidence-based book of flashcards for clinicians caring for patients who require hospice and palliative care and supportive care. Written in a clinical scenario/vignette, question-and-answer format by experts with first-hand experience in the field, the flashcards are highly readable and serve as a source of fast answers to clinical questions in the field. A total of 300 flashcards are organized into chapters by disease and provide readers with up-to-date information that follows the core curriculum of American Board of Hospice and Palliative Medicine for ease of use and rapid review for exams. This book will equip care professionals with key concepts related to the assessment and management of palliative care, making it an ideal point-of-care quick reference for physicians, nurse practitioners, fellows, residents, and students.Less

Patients with advanced cancer may develop a number of clinical complications related to tumor progression or a variety of aggressive treatments. The majority of these patients are elderly, often with multiple co-morbidities that require appropriate assessment and management. In the palliative stage of their disease, patients undergo a progressive transition from active acute care to community-based hospice care. This transition requires modification in the diagnostic tests, monitoring procedures and pharmacological treatments to adjust them to the palliative and short-term nature of the care. Internal Medicine Issues in Palliative Cancer Care looks at internal medicine through a prognosis-based framework and provides a practical approach to maximizing comfort and quality of life while minimizing aggressive investigations and therapies for patients with life-limiting disease. Forty-six common internal medicine conditions are organized into nine clinical categories: pulmonary, cardiovascular, renal and metabolic, gastrointestinal, hematologic, infectious, endocrine, rheumatologic, and neuro-psychiatric.Less

This resource provides practical guidance on end of life management for patients with renal disease. It is presented in easily accessible, bullet point style, and is illustrated with case histories from real life patients, and drug tables. Less

Landmark Papers in Pain offers a comprehensive inventory of over 80 key studies in pain medicine from the last 100 years. Pain medicine, a relatively new specialty, has proven increasingly relevant to medical practitioners in every field. The specialism of pain has emerged over the past 50 years, largely due to the persistence of experts and new medical evidence that points to its necessity. Today, it is a distinct and integral part of global medical practice. Each paper in this book is accompanied by a concise commentary on the significance of the original findings written by an expert in pain. The reviews discuss how the papers influenced the development of the speciality and how the findings have advanced our global comprehension of pain. Together, the selected papers and reviews chart the growth of an embryonic field into the modern speciality of pain medicine. Complied by leading specialists in the field, the papers included in this book are significant for any student, researcher, clinical practitioner, or medical historian interested in pain medicine. Organized into eight distinct topics and cross-referenced by topics and author of original paper, the book is comprehensive in its coverage and easy to use. A review of the contemporary and historical research that shaped the speciality of pain, Landmark Papers in Pain is essential reading for all medical practitioners with an interest in pain medicine and pain research.Less

The importance of spiritual well-being and the role of "meaning" in moderating depression, hopelessness and desire for death in terminally-ill cancer and AIDS patients has been well-supported by research, and has led many palliative clinicians to focus on the development of non-pharmacologic interventions that can help their patients address these issues. Individual Meaning-Centered Group Psychotherapy (IMCP), an intervention developed and rigorously tested by the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, is a seven-week program based around the work of Viktor Frankl, and which utilizes a mixture of didactics, discussion and experiential exercises that focus around particular themes related to meaning and advanced cancer. Patients are assigned readings and homework that are specific to each session's theme and which are utilized in each session. While the focus of each session is on issues of meaning and purpose in life in the face of advanced cancer and a limited prognosis, elements of support and expression of emotion are inevitable in the context of each group session. Less

There is an evolution taking place regarding the nature and scope of the clinical goals of psychotherapeutic or counseling interventions in the palliative care setting. Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy in the Cancer Setting provides a theoretical context for meaning-centered psychotherapy (MCP), a nonpharmacologic intervention that has been shown to enhance meaning and spiritual well-being, increase hope, improve quality of life, and significantly decrease depression, anxiety, desire for hastened death, and symptom burden distress in the cancer setting. Based on the work of Viktor Frankl and his concept of logotherapy, MCP is an innovative intervention for clinicians practicing in fields of psycho-oncology, palliative care, bereavement, and cancer survivorship. This resource contains chapters on adapting MCP for different cancer-related populations and for different purposes and clinical problems, including interventions for cancer survivors, caregivers of cancer patients, adolescents and young adults with cancer, as a bereavement intervention, and cultural and linguistic applications in languages such as Mandarin, Spanish, and Hebrew.Less

Oxford Case Histories in Oncology contains 30 well-structured cases from clinical practice, giving a comprehensive coverage of the diagnostic and management dilemmas in oncology. The cases cover a wide spectrum of oncology, including rare presentations and clinical problems of common cancers. Each case comprises a brief clinical history with relevant clinical examination findings. Questions are based on clinical investigations and aspects of management. Detailed answers are based on the best available evidence from the latest research, systematic reviews, meta-analysis and guidelines from national and international academic bodies. This resource is complimented by over 50 illustrations, including radiographic images and radiotherapy treatment plans. Less

The Oxford Handbook of Palliative Care is a concise summary of current Palliative Care Practice written by those actively involved in the care of patients in the last phase of life. While management of symptoms is a very important contribution to the quality of end of life care, dying is not predominantly a medical event, but an important part of life. As such the Handbook, while detailing the contemporary management of physical and psychological symptoms, also includes contributions from a wide variety of professionals involved in the wider aspects of care and support for individuals and their families. The Handbook also includes references and quotations from literature relating to the existential issues that surround mortality.Less

Comprehensive in scope and definitive in authority, this second edition has been thoroughly updated to cover new practices, current epidemiological data and the evolving models that support the delivery of palliative medicine to children. it is is an essential resource for anyone who works with children worldwide. Less

This new edition of the Oxford Textbook of Palliative Medicine has been thoroughly updated to offer a truly global perspective in this field, and new sections include information on assessment tools, care of patients with cancer, and the management of issues in the very young and the very old. It covers all the new and emerging topics, and the multi-disciplinary nature of palliative care is emphasized throughout, covering areas from ethical and communication issues, the treatment of symptoms, and the management of pain.Less

Spirituality and healthcare is an emerging field of research, practice and policy, and healthcare organisations and practitioners are therefore challenged to understand and address spirituality, develop their knowledge and implement effective policy. This is the first reference resource to provide a comprehensive overview of the key topics.Less

Looking after children with life-limiting conditions can be very difficult for both parents and health-care professionals. This second edition of Paediatric Palliative Medicine is full of easily accessible, detailed information on medical conditions and symptoms, and includes specific management plans in order to guide the practising clinician through treatment of children requiring palliative care. Using the bestselling Oxford Specialist Handbook format to deliver practical and concise information, this handbook facilitates bedside delivery of effective palliative medicine. It includes detailed information on symptom control and the philosophy and models that support delivery of palliative medicine to children, while also covering practical delivery of palliative medicine relating to other professionals and families, and the learning and coping skills required in palliative care. It also contains a quick-reference drug formulary. Fully updated with an expanded formulary and a new chapter on the intensive care unit, this new edition continues to be the authoritative reference tool in paediatric palliative care.Less