Palliative care (PC) principles apply to many symptoms and situations. In many patients with a number of underlying conditions, symptoms can vary markedly and range from physical to psychological to spiritual. In this chapter, we will attempt to offer a…
Introduction Many countries are in the early stages of a major demographic shift, stemming from the so-called “baby boomers” coming of age and thus an increasingly older population. This has clear implications for clinical practice, as age is the number…
Introduction Halsted et al. theorized that there was an orderly, contiguous, and stepwise mechanism for the spread of cancer within the body, extending from the primary tumor to the lymphatic system, lymph nodes, and ultimately, distant sites. , This theory…
An estimated 40% of cancer patients are diagnosed with spinal bone metastases (SBM), which can result in significant morbidity including pain, neurologic compromise, fracture, and spinal cord compression. Metastatic spinal cord compression (MSCC) develops in approximately 5% of cancer patients…
Indications for palliative radiation The most common indication for palliative radiation to the brain, brain metastases are a very common occurrence in the contemporary management of oncology patients, representing the most common brain tumor in adults and outnumbering primary brain…
Introduction Non-spine bone metastases are a common source of pain and morbidity among patients with metastatic cancer. Although their true incidence is unknown, estimates ranging as high as 30% to 70% have been reported during the course of their malignancies…
Introduction Hematologic malignancies arising from bone marrow cell populations classically include leukemias, either of lymphocytic or myelogenous origin, and multiple myeloma (MM), of plasma cell origin. The mainstay of definitive therapy for these malignancies is high-dose chemotherapy with local therapy,…
Introduction Radiotherapeutic palliation of lymphoma is unique among cancers for several reasons. First, unlike most cancers, even patients with disseminated “stage IV” disease can be routinely cured or put into a lasting remission with systemic therapies alone. Even in the…
Background An estimated 11,060 new cases of pediatric cancer will be diagnosed in the United States in 2019. In children ages 0 to 14, the most common diagnoses are leukemia (28%), central nervous tumors (21%), and neuroblastoma (7%) ( Fig.…
Introduction The five primary gynecologic malignancies (vulvar, vaginal, cervical, uterine, and ovarian) accounted for 12.2% ( n = 109,000) of new cancer diagnoses and 11.6% ( n = 33,100) of cancer deaths in American women in 2019. Uterine cancers are…