IAHPC BOOK REVIEW
OPTIMIZING CANCER CARE – THE IMPORTANCE OF SYMPTOM MANAGEMENT Vols I and II
American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)
 |
Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co., 2001
1800 pp and CD-ROM
ISBN 0787 277 851
RRP $US389 |
The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) is to be congratulated on the publication of this curriculum on the Importance of Symptom Management, as part of
their commitment to improving cancer care. This has been reflected over the last few years by the increasing number of articles in the Journal of Clinical Oncology that deal with matters other
than treatment of the cancer.
The Curriculum comprises 29 sections covering most symptoms from Anxiety to Delirium, Fatigue, Nausea and Vomiting, Pain, to Written Plans. Terminal care and bereavement
follow up haven’t been included, but we can hope. Each section is based on a series of projection slides (included on the CD-ROM) that can be used as a teaching resource or for continuing medical
education (CME). The quality of most sections is good, although some are inadequately referenced.
The problem with this book is the packaging and presentation. And the price. It is enormous, measuring 18 x 30 x 33 cm (or 7 x 11 x 13 inches) and weighing over 8kg (or 18 lbs). If you put it
on your desk, there isn’t room for much else. It doesn’t fit in the bookshelf. If you reach for it to jog your memory about the treatment of a certain symptom, you’ll hurt yourself. Each page
is devoted to one slide and a short explanatory text, although the text often adds little to what’s on the slide. My measurements indicate that the slide and text take up just 25% of the page
(25% is taken up by the repetitive header and footer, and about half is blank). So, if both sides of the page were used, the material in this book could have been presented as a useable 250-page
book and sold for something of the order $50-$60.
It is not clear whether the exorbitant cost relates to the ostentatious presentation or to the availability of CME points for ASCO members, but nobody should buy
this book in its present form. What a benefit it would be to have this information, written by a first-class list of contributors, available and affordable to oncologists and palliative care professionals
around the world. How about it, ASCO?
Roger Woodruff,
Medical Oncologist and Director of Palliative Care, Austin Health, Melbourne, Australia (August 2003)
Contents
Volume I
- Anxiety
- Ascites
- Breaking bad news
- Cancer related weight loss
- Communication
- Constipation
- Controlled sedation for refractory symptoms
- Delirium
- Depression
- Diarrhea
- Dyspnea
- Fatigue
- Gastrointestinal obstruction
- Insomnia
Volume II
- Lymphedema
- Malignant pleural effusions
- Menopausal symptoms
- Mucositis
- Nausea and Vomiting
- Pain, General
- Pain, Interventional
- Pain, Neuropathic
- Physician Assisted Suicide
- Radiation for palliation
- Sexual health and functioning
- Skin disorders
- Stress, burnout and grief
- Treatment without chemotherapy
- Written plans.
