Handbook Of Quality Of Life In Cancer

Quality of life is an important outcome when treating a cancer patient. Research is vast on the role of quality of life on patients' general wellbeing, responsiveness to treatment, and even mortality. On the other hand, there are several methodological considerations when planning to measure and assess quality of life in cancer patients. This handbook – with authorship that is diverse in terms of perspectives, countries, and fields – aims to fill a gap in the available literature and responds to a number of questions in its 26 chapters: What is quality of life and health-related quality of life and why are they important? How is quality of life assessed? What are the theoretical and methodological considerations when using quality of life outcomes in cancer research? How is quality of life useful in routine clinical care? How is quality of life impacting different cancer populations in terms of site of the cancer, age, gender, and context? Handbook of Quality of Life in Cancer is a learning and consulting tool that can be used by a diverse audience. It is an essential resource for researchers who wish to use quality of life assessment tools in clinical trials or other types of studies; clinicians who want to develop their understanding of how they can utilize quality of life and how it is important for the patients they care for; and commissioners who wish to see why quality of life may impact population health and health system costs. Students in diverse fields of study (medicine, nursing, psychology, social work, medical sociology, population health, epidemiology, and medical statistics, among others) also would benefit from using the handbook for their studies and for their continuing professional development.

Early recognition and management of adverse effects of cancer treatments are essential for optimal care of patients with cancer, and drastically different approaches are required for different physiologic reactions. Handbook of Cancer Treatment-Related Symptoms and Toxicities is a focused, one-stop resource that enables clinicians to quickly find up-to-date, reliable information needed at the point of care. The high-yield approach prioritizes the most common toxicities associated with cancer treatment, and concise, templated chapters offer fast access to information needed in day-to-day practice. Presents a user-friendly overview of cancer treatment-related symptoms and toxicities management in a practical, easy-to-use format, allowing you to quickly find information in one convenient, concise resource. Covers systemic and radiation therapies, including chemotherapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapies, and radiation therapy, detailing symptoms of each toxicity to confirm your diagnosis. Overviews pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic approaches to symptom management. Offers recommendations for mitigating toxicities in high-risk patients. Discusses key topics such as management of infusion reactions, when the need for biopsy is warranted, and the unique challenges posed by novel immunotherapies.

This timely revision of the authoritative handbook gives a wide range of providers practical insights and strategies for treating cancer survivors’ long-term physical and mental health issues. Details of new and emerging trends in research and practice enhance readers’ awareness of cancer survivor problems so they may better detect, monitor, intervene in, and if possible prevent disturbing conditions and potentially harmful outcomes. Of particular emphasis in this model of care are recognizing each patient’s uniqueness within the survivor population and being a co-pilot as survivors navigate their self-management. New or updated chapters cover major challenges to survivors’ quality of life and options for service delivery across key life domains, including: Adaptation and coping post-treatment. Problems of aging in survivorship, disparities and financial hardship. Well-being concerns including physical activity, weight loss, nutrition, and smoking cessation. Core functional areas such as work, sleep, relationships, and cognition. Large-scale symptoms including pain, distress, and fatigue. Models of care including primary care and comprehensive cancer center. International perspectives PLUS, insights about lessons learned and challenges ahead. With survivorship and its care becoming an ever more important part of the clinical landscape, the Second Edition of the Handbook of Cancer Survivorship is an essential reference for oncologists, rehabilitation professionals, public health, health promotion and disease prevention specialists, and epidemiologists.

This book is comprised of extensive reviews and instructional chapters that discuss the quality of life in several aspects of cancer. The first six chapters deal with conceptual issues relating to measuring quality of life in adult and pediatric populations with cancer. The next five chapters provide practical information on how to select quality-of-life measures, the statistical analysis of trials, economic evaluations to be considered, and some possible abuses of quality-of-life measures. Five chapters review the results of studies using selected quality-of-life measures and provide recent information on their performance. These are followed by three chapters dealing with specific issues relating to nausea and vomiting associated with cancer therapy. Three chapters are devoted to the problems of assessing and controlling pain in patients who have cancer. There are also two chapters that deal with the quality of life in palliative care. Effect of Cancer on Quality of Life is intended for all who have an interest in measuring the quality of life in patients with cancer. This includes investigators who are just entering the field and can benefit from instructions on how to conduct quality-of-life research, as well as those who are experienced in conducting this kind of research.

Handbook of Supportive Oncology and Palliative Care is a practical guide to providing evidence-based and value-based care to adult and pediatric cancer patients experiencing severe symptoms and stressors due to cancer diagnosis, cancer treatment, and comorbid conditions. This accessible reference provides the art and science behind the whole-person and family approach to care by delivering the best practices to relieving a cancer patient’s symptoms across physical, psychosocial, and spiritual dimensions. Unlike other resources, this book covers all dimensions of palliative care but with a special emphasis on primary palliative care. Part One of the handbook provides the essential background and principles of supportive oncology and palliative care, including chapters on understanding the adult and pediatric patient and family illness experience, the roles and responsibilities of the palliative care team, and the art of the palliative care assessment interview. Part Two covers symptom management and includes ten chapters considering the major physical and psychosocial symptoms a cancer patient may face—neurologic, cardiac, respiratory, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, psychiatric, sleep and fatigue, pain, and psychosocial and spiritual distress. Part Three addresses special considerations and issues that an oncologist, physician, nurse or other healthcare provider often face in these settings, including chapters on intimacy, sexuality, and fertility issues, grief and bereavement, running a family meeting, care for the caregiver, and survivorship. Written by expert clinicians, this state-of-the-art handbook is a necessary resource for any oncologist, nurse, primary care physician, psychosocial expert, or related practitioner who endeavors to improve quality of life and provide healing to those suffering from cancer and its treatment. Key Features: Provides the binding principles of palliative care for pediatrics, adults and families from diverse cultures and spiritual beliefs Easy-to-read format makes extracting content fast and convenient for both the clinical and educational setting Guides the clinician and practitioner through the palliative care assessment process, including the appropriate questions for the palliative care interview

Not long ago, a cancer diagnosis was regarded as an automatic death sentence; today there are ten million survivors. Equally impressive is the growing number of clinicians and researchers dedicated to improving the quality of survivors’ lives and care. Yet despite this encouraging picture, there has never been a reliable central source for relevant clinical information — until now. This book, written by a cancer survivor and sixty other top scientist-practitioners, responds to the diverse needs of survivors and their support communities by comprehensively addressing the major issues in the field, from the burden of survivorship to secondary prevention.

Published in association with ESMO, this timely handbook is a concise and practical reference for all oncologists who are responsible for the care of patients with advanced cancer.

Cancer and its treatments have far-reaching and long-lasting effects on quality of life, and no more so than in the area of sexuality and sexual functioning. The successful treatment of cancer often leaves survivors with an enhanced appreciation of life and the love they have in their lives. Difficulty expressing love through the most intimate of acts is devastating for many couples after treatment. For those who are not partnered, treatment side effects pose additional challenges in the realm of dating and establishing new relationships when body image is altered. In the 10 years since the first edition of this book was published, oncology care providers have shown an increasing interest in addressing their patients' changes to sexuality. The field has moved from an overwhelming silence to discussions that are much more open. Both survivors and their partners have benefited from this. But so too have oncology care providers who are increasingly providing comprehensive care for their patients, especially in this most sensitive aspect of quality of life. This second edition of the award-winning and practice-changing text includes updated evidence and models that address the assessment and management of cancer-related sexual problems for survivors of all ages with a broad variety of cancers. Book jacket.