Handbook of Palliative Radiation Therapy: A Comprehensive Guide

Authored by esteemed professionals in the field of radiation oncology, the Handbook of Palliative Radiation Therapy is a groundbreaking guide that provides practical insights into palliative care in radiation oncology. This book is the first of its kind to focus on planning and administering single-fractionated, hypofractionated, and conventional radiation therapy for end-of-life cancer care.

Background and Efficacy of Palliative Radiation Therapy

The handbook begins with several chapters that delve into the background and efficacy of palliative radiation therapy. These introductory chapters provide crucial information on patient selection and assessment of life expectancy, laying the foundation for the rest of the book.

Site-Specific Malignancies

The bulk of the book comprises chapters on site-specific malignancies, each containing comprehensive literature reviews, treatment plans, toxicity information, and symptom management. More than 20 color figures enhance the chapter text and illustrate best practices, making the information more accessible and easier to understand.

Written for Radiation Oncologists and Beyond

Written for radiation oncologists, physicists, and other radiation therapy team members, this indispensable text explains how short course regimens can be used to provide better quality care, increase quality of life and convenience, and relieve pain and suffering for advanced stage and end-of-life cancer patients.

Key Features

Chapters contain self-assessment questions, clinical cases, clinical pearls, and other elements to bring out key points in the text. The book discusses strategies for delivering radiation to patients with significant symptoms, such as bleeding, dysphagia, airway obstruction, and other painful and debilitating side effects. It also includes reviews of tools for assessing life expectancy, including Recursive Partitioning Analysis, the TEACHH tool, and other predictive models such as Number of Risk Factors score.

A Comprehensive Resource

The Handbook of Palliative Radiation Therapy is a comprehensive resource that explains appropriate considerations when combining palliative radiation therapy with analgesics. It serves as a valuable guide for healthcare professionals seeking to improve the quality of care for their patients.