"As Normal as Possible" is the story of breast cancer from a caregiver's perspective. Ray Hall was the caregiver to his wife, Brenda, from her first diagnosis in 1996 to her passing in 2008. It tells of their journey through treatments, the effects of those treatments on their lives and the many medical evaluations she encountered through their ordeal with this dreaded disease. The story of the cancer and its issues is intertwined with the story of her life during their years together.
Ray wanted to tell this story because it helped him with the devastation of her being gone and often when a celebrity is diagnosed with this disease it becomes a huge story and is splashed all over the headlines, which is as it should be. Brenda Hall was not a celebrity known by the public by any stretch of the imagination; as a matter of fact she avoided the spotlight at all costs. She was a celebrity to her family and friends, the people who were part of their everyday lives. But, she was one of the thousands of ordinary women living ordinary lives who are diagnosed with this disease.
"As Normal as Possible" is Ray's loving tribute to his wife and their life together

A portion of the proceeds from all sales will go to fund breast cancer research.

Before the integration of expert systems in biomedical science, complex problems required human expertise to solve them through conventional procedural methods. Advancements in expert systems allow for knowledge to be extracted when no human expertise is available and increases productivity through quick diagnosis. Expert System Techniques in Biomedical Science Practice is an essential scholarly resource that contains innovative research on the methods by which an expert system is designed to solve complex problems through the automation of decision making through the use of if-then-else rules rather than conventional procedural methods. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as image processing, bio-signals, and cognitive AI, this book is a vital reference source for computer engineers, information technologists, biomedical engineers, data-processing specialists, medical professionals, and industrialists within the fields of biomedical engineering, pervasive computing, and natural language processing.

When Melissa's gynecologist recommends she get a test specifically for women with a history of cancer in their families, she agrees. With seventeen immediate family members having had the disease, she knows she might not be happy with the results. But nothing can prepare Melissa for the outcome: She tests eighty-seven percent positive for breast cancer and forty-four percent positive for ovarian cancer, both by the age of forty. She faces a twenty percent chance of the cancer recurring in less than four years if she opts for chemotherapy and radiation. Those aren't good odds, and Melissa makes a brave decision: She has both breasts removed and goes through the process of breast reconstruction. In "Perky Mutant, " she shares how she made tough decisions, how surgeries affected her body, and what helped her get through the recovery process. She also includes week-by-week progressive photos to help other women going through the breast reconstruction process. With a cast of characters by her side that includes her husband, "Studly," Melissa somehow maintains her humor, wit, and hope. An inspirational story, "Perky Mutant" will help patients, their friends and family members learn, cope and laugh.

This issue of Critical Care Clinics, guest edited by Drs. Marie Baldisseri, Mary Reed, and Randy Wax, in collaboration with Consulting Editor John Kellum, is devoted to Intensive Care Unit in Disaster. Topics in this issue include: Intensive care role in disaster management; Preparing the ICU for disaster; Augmenting capacity; Triage; Natural disasters; Biological/pandemic disasters; Chemical disasters; Radiation; Anthropogenic (terrorist/criminal act) disasters; Special populations (i.e., chronically ill, morbidly obese, pregnant); Pediatrics; Austere environments; Hospital as disaster Ground Zero; and Special considerations (i.e., mental health, ethics, public relations).

This book reiterates the need for all stake holders involved in transfusion service delivery in Africa; from patients to the transfusion scientist, requesting clinicians, blood collection staff and distribution staff to work collaboratively to demonstrate judicious, world-class stewardship and use of the precious gifts of human blood as well as help people understand the limitations of blood supply. It is designed to emphasize the evidenced -based best practices in transfusion medicine in the developed world to enable countries in Africa optimise their transfusion service delivery to their patients.

This book is designed to aid the faculty of medical and other health related schools in developing the pedagogical skills to transform their teaching in multiple settings including the classroom, the conference room, the ambulatory office, and the hospital from a passive learning experience to an active learning experience. In this transformation, the teacher morphs from the 'all knowing expert' to the 'learning facilitator and coach'. After a brief review of adult learning theory the remainder of the book will focus on a broad variety of teaching techniques and classroom activities that 'flip' the classroom from a passive to an active learning environment. In addition to condensed explanations of each of the techniques, examples of each process will be presented with suggestions for flexing the techniques to better accommodate a variety of learning settings and a diversity of learners.

As the healthcare industry continues to expand, it must utilize technology to ensure efficiencies are maintained. Healthcare needs to move in a direction where computational methods and algorithms can relieve the routine work of medical doctors, leaving them more time to carry out more important and skilled tasks such as surgery. Computational Methods and Algorithms for Medicine and Optimized Clinical Practice discusses some of the most interesting aspects of theoretical and applied research covering complementary facets of computational methods and algorithms to achieve greater efficiency and support medical personnel. Featuring research on topics such as healthcare reform, artificial intelligence, and disease detection, this book will particularly appeal to medical professionals and practitioners, hospitals, administrators, students, researchers, and academicians.

This set includes Volumes 1-7 of 15 short atlases reimagining the classic 5 volume Atlas of Human Central Nervous System Development. A handy paperback edition completes the coverage of the first trimester of human brain development. Serial sections from specimens between 4mm and 60mm are illustrated and annotated in great detail, together with 3D reconstructions. An introduction and glossary summarize these earliest stages of human Central Nervous System development. Key Features 1) Classic anatomical atlases 2) Detailed labeling of the earliest phases of prenatal neurological development 3) Appeals to neuroanatomists, developmental biologists and clinical practitioners. 4) Persistent relevance - brain development is not going to change.

First published as "Tracks: the CV Work Directory" in 1997, the tenth revised and updated edition is published in 2006. It gives information of over 130 professions in the UK, organised in eight booklets from communications media to service industries. Titles include pathways in the arts, construction industry, financial services, health care, insurance, land and sea work, law, leisure and tourism, local government, manufacturing crafts, marketing, planning and public services. Qualifications are listed from GCSE and NVQ/BTEC to degree level. There are work descriptions and pay scales with interviews and advice from British chartered institutes and individuals established in the particular field. Designed in an easy to access format of a page per profession, the handbooks also include contacts for working in countries in the European Union and a detailed index of internet recruitment sites for each sector. Tracks 4 covers health care professions in the varied fields of complementary therapies, medical care, nursing, rehabilitation and allied services from pharmacy to optometry and radiography.

This issue of MRI Clinics of North America focuses on Cardiac MR Imaging and is edited by Drs. Roberto C. Cury and Clerio Azevedo. Articles will include: The prognostic value of late gadolinium enhancement in non-ischemic heart disease; The role of contrast-enhanced CMR in the assessment of patients with malignant ventricular arrhythmias; Assessment of cardiac sarcoidosis by CMR: comparison with other imaging modalities; The value of T1 mapping techniques in the assessment of non-ischemic cardiomyopathies; Assessment of cardiotoxicity of cancer chemotherapy: The value of cardiac MRI; State-of-the-art quantitative assessment of myocardial ischemia by stress perfusion CMR; T2* mapping techniques: Iron overload assessment and other potential clinical applications; Automated Quantitative Stress Perfusion in a Clinical Routine; Comprehensive assessment of cardiac involvement in muscular dystrophies by cardiac CMR; Assessment of aortic stenosis by CMR: quantification of flow, characterization of myocardial injury, TAVR planning and more; Cardiac MRI at 7.0 Tesla: Reality?; The role of cardiac MRI in the assessment of patients with cardiac amyloidosis; Applications of Cardiac MRI in Electrophysiology: Current Status and Future Needs; and more!

This book provides a multi-level and multi-dimensional insight into urban water and sanitation development by analyzing sector reforms in Africa. With the recent events in mind - water shortages in Cape Town, widespread cholera in Haiti, mass-migration from low-income countries, etc. - it elaborates a pressing topic which is directly linked to the precarious living conditions of the urban poor in the developing countries. It is urgent to acknowledge the proposed findings and recommendations of the book which will help to improve the situation of potential refugees in their home countries with a realistic vision for the development of the most basic of all life supporting services. So many efforts to reverse the negative trend in water and sanitation development have failed or targets have been repeatedly missed by far without notable consequences for decision makers on different levels and institutions. It has unnecessarily consumed many young lives, contributed to keep billions in poverty until today and fostered discrimination of women. The knowledge gap and the confusion in the sector lined out in the book becomes evident when a national leader in a low-income country declares a state of emergency in urban water and sanitation while at the same time global monitoring publishes an access figure for urban water of over 90% for the same country. It is time to change this with an effective sector development concept for our partner countries and a more realistic discourse on global level. The book argues for a sweeping rethinking and combines extended local knowledge, lessons learned from history in advanced countries and thorough research on reforms in Francophone and Anglophone developing countries. This was possible because the writer was working in Sub-Saharan partner countries for almost 30 years as an integrated long term advisor in different sector institutions (ministry, regulator, financing basket and different sizes of utilities) and had the opportunity to cooperate closely with the main development partners. The reader has the opportunity to obtain a comprehensive understanding of how the sector works and sector institutions in low-income countries function and can discover the reasons behind success and failures of reforms. The book also covers issues which have a significant influence on urban water and sanitation development but are hardly the subject of discussions. It helps to make the shortcomings of the water and sanitation discourse more apparent and assist institutions to move beyond their present perceptions and agendas. All of this makes the book different from other literature about urban water and sanitation in the developing world.

For Directors Only The behavioral health organization is an essential resource that should be available to all communities. This is usually the central place where many of the thousands of men, women and children who live in both urban and suburban neighborhoods receive their behavioral and medical healthcare. Historically, the Federal govern- ment has recognized this trend and accordingly has set aside mil- lions of dollars in funding to address many of the issues directly re-lated to inadequate healthcare delivery in these neighborhoods. This need has created a tremendous opportunity to deliver specialized niche services to these patients. Many of you who are ready to go out and start a new practice will find that the community will welcome you with open arms. This will be the case whether your agency provides psychotherapy, or a combination of services, which may include a medical compo- nent. The mere fact that the integrated healthcare delivery system provides a one-stop shop for comprehensive healthcare under one roof makes it a very attractive model. And, for the organization that is currently contemplating the creation of a pharmacotherapy or dispensary delivery system, this book contains all of the information that is needed to put together a comprehensive proposal and successful operating system. It was the intent and purpose of this book to provide you with the tools in which to create, operate and upgrade your own ideal organization.

A comprehensive, down-to-earth guide for anyone diagnosed with breast cancer. Being diagnosed with breast cancer can be scary and confusing. There are medical terms to learn, options to consider, and important decisions to make, all while trying to carry on with work, family, and life. The Breast Cancer Book can't reverse a diagnosis or make breast cancer disappear, but every page can inform and empower you or your loved ones, no matter where you are in the breast cancer experience. Written by three trusted experts-an oncologist, a breast surgeon, and a two-time breast cancer survivor-this multidisciplinary book walks you through everything you need to know about breast cancer so that you can make the best decisions about diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up care. In plain, easy-to-understand language that illuminates all the facets of this disease, the authors draw on their professional experience and the most current scientific knowledge to * describe the risk factors for breast cancer; * explain the various tests used to detect cancer; * clarify the full range of treatment options, from surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation to newer combination therapies; * provide insight from experts in genetics, radiation oncology, and breast reconstruction; * present inspirational true stories of breast cancer survivors; and * simplify complex concepts with detailed graphics, tables, illustrations, and photographs. A crash course on breast cancer that will help get you or anyone you love through the physical and emotional challenges of the disease, The Breast Cancer Book will also help readers communicate with their cancer team. Packed with information, this compassionate guide is the most up-to-date book available.