Preface

One common misconception about palliative care is that it is synonymous with hospice. While the palliative care field originated with hospice, it has since evolved to include care beyond the end of life and indeed the modern concept of palliative care endorsed by ASCO and other organizations is the early integration of palliative care into oncology care.

Perhaps, one reason why palliative care is so alluring is because it brings us back to the fundamentals and for many of us, our motivation for pursuing a career in medicine in the first place—to relieve the pain and suffering of others. We are reminded to be fully present to the “person” in front of us and to acknowledge their experience of illness as multidimensional affecting their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

Radiotherapy is very effective for symptom palliation and has played a key role in palliative oncology care for decades; however, palliative care education in radiation oncology training has been limited to date. As such, we hope this handbook will serve as a convenient, efficient, and valuable resource to radiation oncology residents, fellows, and experienced practitioners. Moreover, this book can be used as a practical guide for palliative care professionals who are interested in improving their understanding of palliative radiation oncology.

We are pleased to share with you the first edition of the Handbook of Supportive and Palliative Radiation Oncology, which is divided into three sections. The first section of the handbook provides an overview of palliative oncology care. The second section is organized by symptoms and is designed to serve as a practical guide to manage symptoms patients initially present with, develop while “on treatment,” and/or develop following the completion of radiation therapy. The third section is organized by disease site and provides concrete recommendations for managing the most common palliative radiation clinical issues encountered by radiation oncologists, including head and neck, gastrointestinal, and gynecological malignancies among others.

We would like to acknowledge the readers for their interest in learning more about palliative care and their openness to further refine their clinical skills to improve the quality of life of patients and their families. We would like to thank the authors of each chapter for their commitment to sharing their time and expertise in palliative radiation oncology. This handbook would not have been possible without them. Finally, we would like to thank our patients and their families who allow us to travel with them on their cancer journey and whose courage and compassion continue to inspire us each day.