Terry J. Priestman – författare

More than one in three people in the UK will be diagnosed with cancer during their lives, and radiotherapy is the most widely used form of treatment for cancer. Yet, little is written about this treatment, and confusion abounds. People may not understand what the treatment does, or why they should have radiotherapy as opposed to other treatments such as chemotherapy or surgery. This book by an acclaimed cancer expert places radiotherapy within the context of overall cancer treatment. Quality of life is important in radiotherapy, and this book also looks at side effects, everyday life, social life, travel, and looks at exercise and diet that may be helpful.

This book is intended as an introduction to the drug treatment of cancer. It is almost ten years since the last edition was written. In the intervening time, there have been numerous developments in cancer chemotherapy and in order to cover these the majority of the text has been completely revised and rewritten. In addition, two new chapters have been introduced, one on the safe handling of cytotoxic drugs and the other on biological response modifiers. In order to incorporate this new information without any undue increase in the length of the text the chapters on a combined approach to treatment have been omitted. This is not because interdisciplinary collaboration is no longer considered important but is a reflection of the fact that, in most centres, it has become the norm in cancer management and its central role in successful treatment no longer needs to be stressed quite so strongly. The four chapters in the last edition which dealt with the team approach to cancer therapy have been replaced by a single chapter on the place of chemotherapy in the overall treatment of cancer. Unfortunately, despite all the innovations of the last decade, it has become increasingly clear that much of the promise offered by drug treatment during the 1960s and 1970s has not been fulfilled.

More than one in four people in the UK will be diagnosed with cancer at some time during their lives, and most of them will need chemotherapy. This makes chemotherapy one of the most widely used forms of treatment today. For many, ''chemotherapy'' is a frightening, almost taboo word - but today''s sophisticated drugs are resulting in ever improving cure rates, as well as better quality of life during the treatment itself. Coping with Chemotherapy explains what the treatment is, how the drugs work, and different ways in which they can be given. It also explains how to tackle side effects such as sickness, tiredness and hair loss. This new edition also looks at the growth in importance of hormonal treatments, and of targeted therapies, drugs which attack specific abnormalities on cancer cells. The advice on money matters has also been updated and expanded.