Cancer Pain: Assessment and Management [Hardcover]

Eduardo D. Bruera (Editor), Russell K. Portenoy (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 23, 2003 | ISBN-10: 0521773326 | ISBN-13: 978-0521773324 | Edition: 1

This comprehensive text surveys the unique characteristics of cancer pain, including its pathophysiology, clinical assessment, diagnosis, pharmacological management and nonpharmacological treatment. The internationally recognized contributors address the full range of disciplines involved in cancer pain management, including pharmacology, communication studies, and psychology. The volume is an essential resource for physicians, nurses, and medical students treating patients suffering from cancer pain.

Editorial Reviews

From The New England Journal of Medicine

Three percent of the American population is living with cancer. Many of these patients have pain that is due to the disease or to the treatment they are receiving for it. Annually, more than 500,000 persons have terminal cancer, and 60 to 80 percent of them have severe pain. Because these patients receive care from physicians in many different fields, the responsibility to improve pain control should fall on all the physicians who are providing care. Studies conducted more than a decade ago found that both the physicians specializing in the treatment of cancer and the patients who have the disease acknowledged that pain due to cancer was undertreated. These data prompted the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research to publish a comprehensive review of the literature and, in 1994, guidelines for the management of pain due to cancer. Despite the intention of these guidelines, pain in patients with cancer is still poorly managed, even in comprehensive cancer centers, as was brought to light by a recent report from the Institute of Medicine (published in 2001). This book provides physicians with the information necessary to turn around the Institute of Medicine's bad report card on treating pain due to cancer. Both of the editors have spent more than two decades studying the treatment of pain in cancer, and both are internationally recognized leaders in the field. The list of editors and contributing authors reads like a who's who in the field of cancer-pain management. In spite of the title, most of the information in this book is applicable to patients who have pain from many other causes, not just from cancer. This well-organized book begins with a section on the biology and prevalence of pain in cancer and proceeds to sections on assessment and obstacles to pain management and on pharmacologic principles of opioid, nonopioid, and adjuvant medications. Potential obstacles to pain management are discussed in chapters on the management of side effects of opioid therapy and on the care of geriatric and pediatric patients and patients who have substance-abuse disorders. The basis for the laws regulating opioid treatment is summarized by Dahl, who spearheaded the inclusion of standards for pain assessment and management in the process of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations. Even the psychosocial impact of pain on patients and their families is adequately covered in the book. A chapter is devoted to the role of the family caregiver in the management of pain, and additional information for caregivers that can be found on the Web is referenced, as well as other reading material. It would have been helpful to include information for physicians and other health care providers that outlined specific interventions for pain. The coexistence with cancer of depression and its contribution to patients' perception of "pain," along with methods of treatment, are thoroughly reviewed. The management of pain requires a multidisciplinary team. Therefore, the roles of professionals in various disciplines -- psychology, psychiatry, rehabilitation medicine, anesthesia, and neurosurgery -- are also covered. The chapters focused on cancer address the roles of radiation, chemotherapy, and neurosurgical interventions for pain. A unique and practical chapter titled "Cancer Pain Syndromes" describes syndromes of acute and chronic pain that are caused directly or indirectly by disease or by the medical interventions used to treat it. Among the topics included are headache from lumbar puncture, 5-fluorouracil-induced angina, pain associated with growth factors, radiation enteritis, hormone flare reactions, hypertrophic osteoarthropathy, otalgia, and plexopathy. Recommendations for treatment are made for some but not all of these disease-related effects. Given the comprehensiveness of this book, it is surprising that the interventions are not adequately covered. It would have been helpful to add recommendations for treating all the complications described or to have included at least a reference to another chapter in the book for such recommendations. The goal Bruera and Portenoy had in creating this book was that it would lead to "improved understanding in treating this devastating disease," and they say they hope that it will "contribute to improvement in care." This comprehensive yet practical book contains all the information needed to provide appropriate interventions to relieve pain in patients who have cancer, while also dispelling the myths and concerns that have contributed to the reluctance of physicians to provide such care. This book should be in the library of every physician who comes into contact with patients with pain. It is truly superb. Joanne E. Mortimer, M.D.
Copyright © 2004 Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved. The New England Journal of Medicine is a registered trademark of the MMS.

Review

"The coverage is comprehensive. This is a well-organized book with a distinguished list of contributors. It achieves the editors' goals and would be a worthwhile addition to the library of Oncology units and palliative care services." Roger Woodruff, Director of Palliative Care, Austin Health, Melbourne, Australia

"I found this comprehensive text on cancer pain to be a very valuable reference for physical therapists who treat people with any type of pain." Physical Therapy

"...will serve as the definitive reference on cancer pain for any clinician caring for these patients. Additionally, basic scientists interests in understanding the current clinical climate surrounding cancer pain will also find this book of value." Oncology

"...an authorative book on the assessment and management of cancer pain. It will be a valuable addition to any medical library." Annals of Pharmacotherapy

"Although there are numerous cancer pain handbooks or quick reference guides, there are no competitors to this book. There is nothing as comprehensive and as scientifically rigorous as this book." Doody's Review Service ®

"This book should be in the library of every Physician who comes into contact with patients with pain. It is truly superb." New England Journal of Medicine

"An excellent book. It presents a vast array of information in a clear, accurate and accessible fashion, which is relevant to the non-specialist and specialist alike." Palliative Medicine 2004

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 500 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 1 edition (June 23, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521773326
• ISBN-13: 978-0521773324
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #848,697 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)