Everyone's Guide to Cancer Therapy; Revised 5th Edition: How Cancer Is Diagnosed, Treated, and Managed Day to Day was written by Andrew Ko, Ernest Rosenbaum, and Malin Dollinger and was published by Andrews McMeel Publishing as a complete guide for cancer patients and their families in making informed and sound decisions. This book is a collaborative effort of more than 100 professional and experienced oncologists to help millions of people whose lives are directly or indirectly affected by cancer. This is an updated version of the book with the help of expert oncologists to ensure that this cancer resource speaks the language of the time.
Instead of just focusing on the journey of cancer patients, this book also transcends the caregivers' journey to voice out the difficulty of families when someone in the family has cancer. This is a detailed analysis of the cancer patients' life and their caregivers from the time a diagnosis of cancer is made to the recovery of the person. There are various treatment programs that are employed by medical and healthcare professionals, depending on the type of cancer and the physiology of a person. In the same manner, the book also discusses the supportive care that cancer patient needs from their caregivers. Caregivers should also know how to support cancer patients to help them recover and rehabilitate from the life-threatening disease.
This book has comprehensive chapters that detail the latest medical breakthroughs with regards to cancer treatment. New targeted therapies for various cancer types are discussed in the book to provide an overview for cancer patients and their families on the options they can tap on. With the different strategies in treatment of cancer, patients and their families don't have to dwell in the dark annals of the high mortality rate of the disease. With the different advancement and scientific discoveries, cancer diagnosis and prevention are already possible to ensure that cancer patients regain their healthy and enjoyable life within a short period of time and to avoid succumbing to complication of cancer.
Perhaps, what Ko and his colleagues failed to emphasize is the psychological impact of cancer on patients and their families. It is impossible to talk the plight of cancer patients without talking about the psychological and mental struggles that they face seeing their families suffer because they have cancer. On the other hand, for families that take care of a member who has cancer, there are also psychological issues that should be sorted out. Without informed knowledge on these issues, caregivers may cause frustration on cancer patients, rather than be their encouragement to fight on. A confrontation of the behavior of both cancer patients and their caregivers is an important factor to ensure that both parties are provided with necessary support. Otherwise, the rehabilitation and treatment of cancer may cause a big problem of family members, who will feel that they become the collateral damage of their family member's cancer treatment. (By avoiding too much focus on what caregivers and family members could say about the cancer treatment and rehabilitation experience, the book avoids the emotionalism drive of cancer.)
Yet, the book provides a comprehensive detail on cancer treatment, prevention and support care without misinterpretation. With the aid of more than 100 oncologists and cancer treatment expert professionals, the book takes on the problem in a more personal and narrower scale, instead of just focusing the theories and scientific explanation. The book provides a detailed presentation of cancer treatment based on the experiences and observations of oncologists, who can personally attest to the advancement or the effectiveness of a cancer treatment, approach, or medical breakthrough.
Reference: Ko, A., e.al. (2008). Everyone's Guide to Cancer Therapy; Revised 5th Edition: How Cancer Is Diagnosed, Treated, and Managed Day to Day. EVERYONE'S GUIDE TO CANCER THERAPY. Andrews McMeel Publishing.