A Physician's Guide to Pain and Symptom Management in Cancer Patients - Softcover

"Family physicans who look after cancer patients will find this book helpful. It would be a useful addition to a hospital or clinic library." -- Canadian Family Physician

"This book is important for all dimensions of patient care -- not just cancer. Every doctor in clinical practice needs this book. Every patient will benefit from it." -- Christine Cassell, M.D., Mount Sinai School of Medicine

"Writing as a seasoned clinician, Dr. Abrahm provides a clinically practical, user-friendly textbook to help physicians address the hidden fears, multiple symptoms, and difficult decisions that patients with advanced cancer face in the course of their illness. The textbook reads like an 'on the phone consultation' with Dr. Abrahm. The case vignettes, useful algorithms for drug therapy, and practical 'how to' information for discussing end of life care make this book a unique resource for all practicing clinicians who care for seriously ill patients." -- Kathleen M. Foley, M.D., Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

"For clinical sophistication, insight into the complexities of doctor-patient communication, and detailed guidance on the treatment of a wide range of distressing symptoms, clinicians will turn again and again to this practical and concise guide as they accompany patient and family through the late stages of illness." -- Diane Meier, M.D., Mount Sinai Medical Center

"Based on the long experience of an obviously careful practitioner, this book is filled with practical hints and ideas for how to deal with all aspects of symptoms for the cancer patient and many others. It is a delight to read and will be a helpful reference for the office shelf." -- Margaret Bowman, M.D., University of Pennsylvania

"Every healthcare professional needs this book. A practical and concise guide, it is an excellent resource that should be used to prevent and treat suffering as healthcare professionals accompany the patient and family through the experience of living with cancer." -- Oncology Nursing Forum

Cancer imposes severe physical, psychological, social, and spiritual burdens on patients and their families. In A Physician's Guide to Pain and Symptom Management in Cancer Patients, Dr. Janet Abrahm argues that this suffering should be prevented or treated at all stages: at diagnosis, during curative therapy, in the event that cancer recurs, during the final months. To help primary care physicians, advanced practicenurses, internists and oncologists alleviate distress, she provides a detailed guide both for the difficult discussions and for the treatment of the symptoms that are likely to occur.

In Part I, Dr. Abrahm reviews a variety of important issues facing cancer patients and their families, focusing particularly on the "unasked questions" they are afraid to raise but that weigh heavily on their minds. She reviews, for example, how to break bad news; how to discuss advance directives and living wills; how to answer requests for assisted suicide; how to overcome misconceptions and persuade patients to take the opioids they really need; and how to help patients and families cope when cure is no longer possible.

Part II is a comprehensive guide to controlling pain, managing other symptoms, providing comfort during the patient's last days, and helping the bereaved survivors. This thorough and compassionate manual is symptom-oriented and patient-focused, featuring the input of all members of the health care and hospice teams, as well as useful case histories, extensive tables of medications, illustrations of pain assessment scales, "practice points" for easy reference, and bibliographies for physicians and for patients and their families.