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N. Kearney, A. Richardson (Eds.), NursingPatients with Cancer. Principles and Practice,Elsevier, London, ISBN 0443072884, 2005(£54.99/81.95 Euro).
Cancer nursing has developed over the past 25years into a specialism that is so diverse, andconstantly changing, that capturing every aspect islikely to be a real challenge for textbook editors.That said, this is an impressive new resourcecomprising 37 chapters and over 800 pages to helppractitioners understand the nature of cancer care.It is helpfully divided into 6 sections covering thephilosophy, science, prevention, treatment, man-agement and care delivery systems. This reflectsthe Core Curriculum for Post-Registration CancerCourse in Cancer Nursing published by EONS in1999. This is a particular strength as the bookfollows a logical sequence and draws on theexpertise of a wide range of colleagues from acrossEurope and beyond. Each chapter is evidence basedwith an impressive list of references.
I found chapters on the social and culturalcontext of care, treatments, symptom manage-ment, the scope of cancer nursing and rehabilita-tion especially interesting. However, nurses (bothin specialist and general settings) are likely to findthe whole book a very useful resource to informtheir clinical practice—as well as when studying
cancer nursing at diploma or degree level. Withguidance to particular sections I would alsorecommend this book to undergraduate nurses,and other professionals, wishing to know moreabout the particular needs of cancer patients.Suggestions for future editions would be to explorefurther issues around ethnicity, poverty and thechanging nature of the politics of cancer on a globalscale. It would also be helpful to expand thediscussion on cancer across the lifespan as well asinterprofessional care management and the movetowards ambulatory or home care.
Given the financial pressures being placed on allhealth care systems it is increasingly important forcancer nursing to continue to develop its knowl-edge base and to provide evidence that interven-tions make a tangible difference to people livingwith cancer. This has never been more necessary.The real challenge is to ensure that the nursingexpertise, reflected in textbooks such as this, isrecognised as a central requirement for achievingexcellence in cancer care.
Daniel KellyMiddlesex University, School of Health & Social
Sciences,2-10 Highgate Hill, London N19 5LW, UK
E-mail address: [email protected]
10.1016/j.ejon.2006.07.002
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