Koczwara B. (ed.) Cancer and Chronic Conditions: Addressing the Problem of Multimorbidity in Cancer Patients and Survivors

Springer Science+Business Media, 2016. — 475 p. — ISBN: 978-981-10-1843-5, 978-981-10-1844-2.It is such a surprise that a book like this has not been written before. Cancer does not occur in a vacuum. Just as our lives are complex and multilayered, so are our individual medical situations with many cancer patients already experiencing other diseases and conditions, often with no seeming connection to their cancer. Dealing with the fallout of a cancer diagnosis and treatment is difficult enough on its own, but when it occurs against a backdrop of other illnesses, the degree of difficulty can become overwhelming.The cancer world is becoming increasingly sophisticated with deeper knowledge about the disease, more high-tech detection approaches, improved treatments and the commitment towards improved statistics and outcomes. Large amounts of money are spent on driving research across the cancer spectrum. We celebrate incremental steps in new knowledge and its application, and so we should! Within all the closely watched cancer statistics and clinical discussions sit ordinary people — cancer patients — who have been thrust into the alien world of oncology and just want to get better. The statistics and graphs actually mean very little to an individual who will not know on which part of the survival curve he or she sits until ultimately survival or death occurs.This book is not able to provide simple solutions; it marks a starting point. It raises issues for consideration and discussion. It highlights the challenges for researchers, clinicians and policy makers. Most importantly, it is an acknowledgement that if we are to genuinely meet the complex needs of people affected by cancer, in the short and long terms, then we have to ask questions, consider other perspectives, collaborate, work on the big picture and look with new eyes as much as possible from the patient’s perspective.What Is Comorbidity?
How Do We Measure Comorbidity?
Cancer, Chronic Conditions and Social Disadvantage — The Perfect Storm.
Impact of Comorbidity on Cancer Screening and Diagnosis.
Impact of Comorbidity on Treatment Decision Making and Outcomes.
The Impact of Cancer and Chronic Conditions on Caregivers and Family Members.
Prevention of Chronic Conditions and Cancer.
Chronic Condition Management Models for Cancer Care and Survivorship.
The Management of Polypharmacy in People with Cancer and Chronic Conditions.
Breaking the Silos: Integrated Care for Cancer and Chronic Conditions.
Advocacy in Cancer and Chronic Conditions — Challenges and Opportunities.
Research Considerations in Patients with Cancer and Comorbidity.
The Cost of Cure: Chronic Conditions in Survivors of Child, Adolescent, and Young Adult Cancers.
Chronic Conditions and Cancer in Older Adults.
Chronic Conditions and Cancer at the End of Life.