Breathlessness is increasingly recognised as a common, disabling symptom of many advanced diseases and one that is very difficult to treat. There is now an understanding that a multi-disciplinary approach to management can make a significant impact on the severity of the symptom improving both the patient s and their carers quality of life.

Breathlessness is one of the most difficult conditions that palliative care (and other clinicians who care for patients with advanced disease) have to treat. With the improvements in pain control, it is possibly now the most difficult symptom for clinicians to manage: many feel frustrated at not being able to give their patients better care. Many patients and families are enduring terrible suffering. There has been little progress in improving the symptom, in spite of an increase in the amount of research and interest in it over the last twenty years. The Cambridge Breathlessness Intervention Service (CBIS) has been established since 2004 and is a research-based service which has being evaluated since its inception: its model of caring has been shaped by the patients and families who use it and the clinicians who refer to it.CBIS has firm evidence of its effectiveness with patients with breathlessness with both malignant and non-malignant disease. This book will help others to manage breathlessness in their day-to-day clinical practice and, if so desired, set up their own breathlessness service. There is a well-established website which can be used in conjunction with the book. The book is written to give practical help in the clinical management of breathlessness and written so that the information is easy to access in clinic, ward or home."

Hospital palliative care teams have been established in rapidly increasing numbers over the last 20 years, as it has been recognized that hospices can never transfer the philosophy and practice of palliative care into the acute sector by simply existing; the often work as 'stand alone units' and remain outside mainstream medicine. However, it has become apparent that improving access to palliative care for patients in acute hospitals is not as easy as employing external palliative care specialists as consultants. Even setting up a team of professionals who work solely in a hospital will often not improve the care of the great majority of patients being treated there.
Based on the extensive experiences and knowledge of three clinicians in the area who have developed palliative care services in acute settings, this book provides those facing the same challenges with practical guidance and down to earth advice on a range of problems they might encounter. Using a problem focused and practical approach, Palliative Care in the Acute Hospital Setting: A Practical Guide is filled with case-based problems to help readers identify realistic, usable, everyday solutions. It also covers the skills and knowledge needed to help teams make progress in the hospital as well as outlining the best training to help them continue to flourish.
Written in an accessible style with short and focused chapters, this clearly laid out book helps readers find the information they need to tackle particular problems easily and with confidence. With a supportive outlook and covering the non-clinical management aspects of palliative care, this book is the ideal guide for palliative care specialists making the transfer from hospice to hospital, and for those setting up palliative care teams in the acute hospital setting.

This is the fifth book in an international, multi-contributed series aimed at providing practical, clinical guidance on how to deal with difficult symptoms related to specific cancer sites. In this volume the Editors bring together first-rate palliative care with oncological treatment for patients with head and neck cancer. Head and neck cancer is one of the most frightening and distressing cancers for patients and their families as it affects appearance, the ability to speak, and the ability to eat. Pain which is difficult to treat, infection, and disfiguring surgery with wounds that often do not heal, are common accompaniments of advanced disease. In addition, psychological distress, loneliness, and isolation are often experienced by patients. Head and neck cancer is not that common but, when it does occur, it very often needs specialist help from palliative care and hospice clinicians. There is little written on this subject and this book provides a comprehensive, practical guide that draws together all the information in an easily accessible format. It is an essential reference for on the ward, or before going to a home visit. The Palliative Care Consultations series is primarily aimed at those individuals working in an acute hospital cancer centre and/or tertiary referral centre. Books are designed to give the busy clinician advice on clinical problems, both those rarely encountered and those that are very common, but difficult. The volumes are site specific and each volume encompasses a review of the current oncological or haemato-oncological management of advanced disease with symptom control advice. These volumes give clinicians excellent advice on symptom control in the context of palliative care. The books are also of use and interest to other professions working in acute hospitals.

Dyspnoea (breathlessness) is an uncomfortable awareness of breathing that occurs in approximately 30-75% of terminal cancer patients. It is one of the most distressing symptoms for both patients and family members and can seriously impact on quality of life. Typically, dyspnoea is associated with congestive heart failure, end-stage chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or lung cancer. This book provides palliative care doctors and specialist nurses with practical guidelines to help manage and treat patients with breathlessness. It includes the science behind the symptom in an attempt to explain the pathology and physiology of this complex condition. The book has been organized to address generalized aspects of breathlessness in advanced illness and more specific aetiologies and managements relevant to particular underlying diseases. It summarizes the epidemiology and the pathophysiology of breathlessness, measurement, research approaches, rehabilitation and exercise, clinical approaches that can be taken at the bedside, pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches, and surgical interventions. The care of patients with dyspnoea requires input from a variety of disciplines such as palliative care, physiotherapy, respiratory medicine and nursing, and this is reflected in the multidisciplinary list of contributors.

Palliative Care Consultations in Haemato-oncology is the first book in a new international, multi-contributed series aimed at providing practical, clinical guidance on how to deal with difficult symptoms related to specific cancer sites. Patients with haematological malignancy often undergo the most rigorous treatments, usually requiring long inpatient stays at tertiary referral centres far removed from friends, families and everyday life. The treatment for some malignancies is palliative, although aggressive, from diagnosis and there can be a number of difficult symptom-control problems all of which are covered in this book. This volume draws on the expertise of the haematologist who is vital if the patient is to have optimal care and provides practical advice in an easily accessible form so that the book can be read and referred to on the ward, or before a domiciliary visit.

Specialists in palliative care and oncology settings, working in the acute sector and in hospices, will find this book invaluable. It will also appeal to consultants as well as specialist registrars, clinical nurse specialists and nurse practitioners in palliative care, oncology and haematology.

ABOUT THE PALLIATIVE CARE CONSULTATIONS SERIES: This series is aimed at those individuals working in a acute hospital cancer centre and/or tertiary referral centre. They are designed to give the busy clinician advice on clinical problems which may be relatively rarely encountered or very common but which are often very difficult to manage. The volumes are site specific and every volume encompasses a review of the current oncological or haemato-oncological management of advanced disease with symptom control advice. The aim of these volumes is to give excellent medical symptom control advice, but also to put the medical advice in the context of palliative care. The books will also be of use and interest to other professions, with the focus on giving first-rate medical help.

Respiratory disease is the second most common cause of death worldwide. Patients with advanced non-malignant disease, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, have similar or even greater health care needs than those with advanced lung cancer. Uncontrolled symptoms, distress, and social isolation contribute to the poor quality of life experienced by such patients.
This book provides practical guidance to professionals who care for patients with advanced respiratory disease. It gives evidence-based advice on a wide range of topics, including management of respiratory and non-respiratory symptoms, chronic respiratory failure, and respiratory emergencies. Recognition of when a patient may be approaching the end of life can be particularly challenging in patients with advanced respiratory disease. Ways to facilitate prognostication are covered, along with the significant communication and ethical challenges that this phase of life can present.
Written by a respiratory specialist and two palliative medicine physicians, this book will be of great value to doctors, nurses, and allied healthcare professionals working in respiratory medicine and in palliative care, both in relation to everyday clinical practice as well as meeting the requirements for postgraduate exams.

This is the fourth volume in a new international, multi-contributed series aimed at providing practical, clinical guidance on how to deal with difficult symptoms related to specific cancer sites. In this volume the Editors bring together first-rate palliative care with oncological treatment for patients with advanced breast cancer. The book is presented in a user-friendly handbook format, with use of tables and algorithms to ensure that it is portable, accessible and can be read and referred to on, or before going to, the ward, or before a domiciliary visit. Specialists in palliative care and oncology settings, working in the acute sector and in hospices, will find the book invaluable. It will also appeal to consultants as well as specialist registrars, clinical nurse specialists and nurse practitioners in palliative care and oncology. The Palliative Care Consultations series is primarily aimed at those individuals working in an acute hospital cancer centre and/or tertiary referral centre. Books are designed to give the busy clinician advice on clinical problems, both those rarely encountered and those that are very common, but difficult. The volumes are site specific and each volume encompasses a review of the current oncological or haemato-oncological management of advanced disease with symptom control advice. These volumes will give clinicians excellent advice on symptom control in the context of palliative care. The books will also be of use and interest to other professions working in acute hospitals.

This is the third book in a new international, multi-contributed series aimed at providing practical, clinical guidance on how to deal with difficult symptoms related to specific cancer sites. There are few more distressing problems for patients and families than the development of a primary or secondary brain tumor. Treatment is often palliative, though intensive, from the start. Little firm evidence exists to guide the physician in caring for patients with seizures refractory to standard treatment. Most of the work is based on case reports or personal experience. This book draws the information together in an easily accessible form so that the book can be read and referred to on the ward, or before a domiciliary visit.
Specialists in palliative care and oncology settings, working in the acute sector and in hospices, will find this book invaluable. It will also appeal to consultants as well as specialist registrars, clinical nurse specialists and nurse practitioners in palliative care, oncology and neurology.

This is the second book in a new international, multi-contributed series aimed at providing practical, clinical guidance on how to deal with difficult symptoms related to specific cancer sites. In gynaecology there are a number of symptoms which cause great distress to the individual and their families, and perplexity to the physicians and nurses caring for them. This volume covers the management of incurable disease for each of the most common cancers followed by a review of the most difficult symptoms that are encountered in this tumor group. Contributors provide scientific background to symptom-control chapters, with an indication of the sources and evidence for their advice.
Specialists in palliative care and oncology setings, working in the acute sector and in hospices, will find this book invaluable. It will also appeal to consultants as well as specialist registrars, clinical nurse specialists and nurse practitioners in palliative care, oncology and gynaecology.

Poppy is a delightful little girl who has adventurous dreams about being in the sleepyland of Glad. This wonderful children's story offers a triumph of positivity and love over whatever fears we may face in life. Poppy is an empowering story for kids, because it lets readers know that facing problems head on while being strong and positive allows us to achieve great things. Says the author, "I truly believe in the power of positivity. I wanted to show it all starts in the mind; you dream it, you believe it, you achieve it " Sara Booth is a biomedical scientist in Mansfield Town, UK. She began writing fourteen years ago as an outlet after the loss of her mother. Her book is named after the daughter of one of her best friends. Publisher's website: http: //sbpra.com/SaraBooth