Following publication of the first edition in 1993, the Oxford Textbook of Palliative Medicine rapidly established itself as the definitive title on the subject. Each edition has received widespread critical acclaim, and it is used across the world by the wide range of health care professionals involved in the care of patients with a terminal illness, or chronic, progressive conditions. Existing readers who automatically turn to the title will welcome this updated edition of their familiar reference, while it will prove a fascinating read to a new generation of palliative care professionals.

The rapid development of the specialty means the title is always thoroughly revised between editions, and the fourth edition is no exception. The original editors, Geoffrey Hanks and Nathan Cherny, are joined by four new editors who are leaders in the field and represent a more global editorial approach than ever before. The multi-disciplinary nature of palliative care is emphasized throughout, while an entire section looks at the individual professional roles that contribute to the best-quality palliative care. Ethical issues are explored, including topical chapters on the controversial issues of witholding and withdrawing life-sustaining therapy, and euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. Communication issues and the psychiatric, spiritual and psychosocial issues so integral to modern palliative care are covered in depth.

As palliative care has become an established and accepted specialty, there is the need for the evidence-base to match other areas of clinical medicine, and a section looks specifically at research in palliative care. The treatment of symptoms is comprehensively covered, with particular focus on the management of pain. Specific chapters are devoted to the role of palliative care in non-malignant diseases and conditions, while education and training are highlighted as critical to future best practice. The Oxford Textbook of Palliative Medicine has continually evolved, keeping pace with the changing face of palliative care, and this new edition ensures that it remains at the forefront of the specialty. No hospital, hospice, palliative care service or medical library should be without a copy.

Features:

• A fourth edition of the hugely successful Oxford Textbook of Palliative Medicine, which has gained a reputation as the definitive guide to the field
• Six international editors guarantee a truly global perspective
• 200 contributors and over 100 chapters deal with all aspects of this rapidly developing specialty
• Two-color, updated design aids navigation

Geoffrey Hanks
Professor of Palliative Medicine
University of Bristol
Bristol Haematology and Oncology Centre
Bristol, UK

Nathan I Cherny
Director, Cancer Pain and Palliative Medicine
Department of Medical Oncology and Palliative Medicine
Share Zedek Medical Center
Jerusalem, Israel

Stein Kaasa
Director of the Palliative Medicine Unit at Trondheim University Hospital, Norway
Professor of Palliative medicine at the Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
Norway

Nicholas A. Christakis
Professor of Medical Sociology in the Department of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School; Professor of Sociology in the Department of Sociology in the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Attending Physician in the Department of Medicine at the Harvard-affiliated Mt. Auburn Hospital
Boston, MA

Marie Fallon
St Columba's Hospice Chair of Palliative Medicine at the University of Edinburgh
Edinburgh Cancer Research Centre and the Western General Hospital
Edinburgh, Scotland

Russell Portenoy
Chairman of the Department of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care, and the Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman Chair in Pain Medicine and Palliative Care at Beth Israel Medical Center
Chief Medical Officer of Beth Israel's Continuum Hospice Care/The Jacob Perlow Hospice, and Professor of Neurology and Anesthesiology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine
New York, NY