Strengths: Fills a void in information on cancer required by patients and health care professionals
Weaknesses: None
Audience: Anyone needing an overview of the behaviour, treatment methods and prognosis for various forms of cancer
Both Canadian editions are edited by Richard Hasselback, an experienced medical oncologist. Hasselback's 35 years of clinical practice, of cooperation with specialists in other medical disciplines and of innumerable lectures to lay groups and health care workers show through clearly in the book. It is unusual for a book with so many authors to maintain such a consistent style, with each chapter concise and understandable.
The second edition follows the same format as the first. Although the second edition is about the same length, it is printed in a smaller format, on higher-quality paper. This makes for a better book. The two-column format, the use of point form to identify important issues and the clear line diagrams make the book easy to read and understand.
Apart from a major section on the treatment of common types of cancer, there are chapters on issues relevant to patients and their families: an understanding of cancer, appropriate treatments, the roles of different personnel in health care teams, and what happens in surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy. New treatments, such as bone-marrow transplantation, and questionable methods of management are discussed. These discussions give an extra dimension to the book. There are strong sections on supportive care, living with cancer, quality of life, cancer prevention and screening.
Although its target audience is the public, the book really has become Everyone's Guide to Cancer Therapy. Physicians and other health care workers, particularly oncology nurses, refer to it when discussing treatment with patients. I have also had patients discuss their treatment with me on the basis of information taken straight from this book.
The need and demand for the book speak for themselves. Copies have been made available in cancer clinics and libraries. The authors and sponsoring organizations are to be congratulated on a book that has quickly become a classic.
Peter J. Fitzpatrick, MB, BS, FRCPC,
FRCR
Professor (retired)
Radiation Oncology
Dalhousie University
Halifax, NS