Palliative care

Author: Li Jinxiang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-04-01
Features: Palliative medicine, as one of the youngest clinical disciplines in medical practice, provides active and holistic care for patients whose diseases do not respond to curative treatments. Its goal is to ensure the best possible quality of life for patients and their families. Palliative Medicine represents the editors' 30+ years of clinical experience and insights into palliative care for terminal malignant diseases, as well as international advancements in the field. This book is edited by Li Jinxiang, Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) West China International Cancer Palliative Care Collaboration Center, Robert Geoffrey Twycross, Chairman of the WHO Palliative Medicine Advisory Center and Director of the International Palliative Medicine Center at the University of Oxford, UK, and Mayer P. Davis, President of Hospital and Director of the Palliative Medicine Center, with Li Ping, Director of the Radiation Oncology Department at the Tumor Center of West China Hospital, Sichuan University, serving as the deputy editor. The book is written and translated by 18 industry experts and young scholars from China, the U.S., and the U.K., ensuring its authority and inspiration. The book comprises approximately 1.2 million words and is divided into six parts, consisting of 42 chapters.
Part One introduces the concept of palliative medicine, its fundamental principles, and the social-biological-psychoological approach to care. Part Two focuses on the core content of clinical practice, including skills, pain management in advanced cancer, opioid analgesic interventions, and the treatment of systemic distress symptoms. Part Three emphasizes palliative radiotherapy and chemotherapy for cancer pain relief, rather than curative cancer treatment. Part Four focuses on palliative rehabilitation for terminal patients to improve their quality of life. Part Five covers the latest advancements in palliative medicine this century: 25 global palliative medications, pain management for terminal patients, psychiatric interventions for pain in AIDS patients, and the principles of maintaining or withdrawing life-sustaining treatment at the end of life.
Palliative Medicine provides a comprehensive knowledge framework for symptom management in advanced cancer and terminal malignant diseases, serving as a reference and practical tool for clinicians in oncology, geriatrics, pain medicine, end-of-life care, and palliative care. It is also suitable for nurses and medical students in related disciplines, meeting their clinical practice needs and knowledge requirements in this emerging field.