Book Review

Quick Reference for Oncology Clinicians: The

Psychiatric and Psychological Dimensions of Cancer

Symptom Management. Edited by Jimmie Holland,Donna Greenberg and Mary Hughes. InternationalPsycho-Oncology Society (IPOS) Press, Charlottes-ville, VA, USA. 2006. 179pp. ISBN 0-9785319-0-6.USD 20.00.

Quick Reference for Oncology Clinicians: ThePsychiatric and Psychological Dimensions of CancerSymptom Management was published in 2006 bythe International Psycho-Oncology Society (IPOS)Press, its first production. This handbook isintended to be employed primarily by oncologistsand nurses working in oncology settings where itshould serve as a ‘curbside consult’ and provideassistance in the management of the emotionaldistress suffered by cancer patients. The editorsalso anticipate that the handbook will be helpful inproviding an overview and introduction to mentalhealth professionals and students.The editors and authors are to be congratulated

first and foremost for the format and conceptualframework of their most important guide book. Itis excellent! This crisp and succinct reference bookon psychosocial issues of cancer care is exactlywhat non-mental health workers caring for cancerpatients need to know. Nor is it a ‘how to’ book.The reader is not expected to know how to dopsychotherapy, counseling, psychotherapy, but toknow about such tools and to be mindful of theirutility for their patients.In the opening chapter, the editors describe the

purpose of the book as aiming ‘to provide theessential facts needed to help you to identifyrapidly and diagnose the common psychiatricdisorders; to know the optimal medication man-agement for them; the common psychosocialproblems of patients and families; the role ofspiritual and religious issues in coping; and, to offera simple tool and algorithm for referring thepatient, when needed, for evaluation by a mentalhealth professional.’ While this is quite a loftyexpectation for a narrative of such short duration,the editors and authors have succeeded in accom-plishing this goal. This book will prove exception-ally helpful as a consolidated, clear and concisereference which is easy to employ while caring forpatients. This primer should become a standardreference carried in the white coats of all doctorsand nurses working on oncology units as it willprove helpful in both providing useful information(i.e. serving as a ‘curbside consult’) and identifyingwhich patients are appropriate to recommend forpsychiatric consultation. As the editors had hoped,this book should also serve as an important

overview and introduction for mental healthprofessionals involved in the care of cancerpatients.

The primary strength of this book lies in the factthat it is both comprehensive and concise. Theauthors make excellent use of tables throughoutthe text. These tables provide essential informationregarding methods for assessing patients andselecting appropriate psychopharmacological andpsychosocial interventions. Where appropriate,additional specific instructions for how to employsuch interventions are also provided. The tables inChapter 6 which addresses the common psychiatricdisorders are especially helpful. These tablesthoroughly outline signs and symptoms, diagnosticcriteria, etiology including differential diagnosis,and recommendations for the management ofcommon psychiatric comorbidities. These com-orbidities include mood and anxiety disorders,delirium and dementia, substance abuse, andpersonality disorders. While there are obviouslimitations inherent to a text of this size, the ‘tips’provided in these tables should prove exceptionallyhelpful in the diagnosis and management of thepsychosocial problems suffered by cancer patients.This chapter, as well as other chapters in this bookincluding Chapter 3 on Psychiatric Emergencies,provide excellent guidelines for the assessment ofsuicide risk and suggestions for appropriate inter-ventions including psychiatric consultation whenhigh risk patients are identified.

Another strength of the book is the inclusion ofuseful psychological and psychosocial screeninginstruments in the second chapter. (It is to be notedthat many of these screening measures are notdiagnostic measures.) These screening tools applyto cancer patients suspected of having distress andanxiety, emotional problems, mood disorders,disorders of cognition including dementia anddelirium, substance abuse issues, and for evaluatingthe role that spirituality plays in the lives ofpatients. These screening tools will prove usefulnot only to oncologists and nurses, but also toconsulting psychiatrists as they provide validatedresources that can be directly applied in theevaluation of patients.

Chapter 4 on pharmacological interventions isan excellent presentation of the different classes ofpsychotropic medications that are useful in thetreatment of cancer patients with emotionaldistress. While this chapter is extremely brief,the tables included in it are ‘packed ’ with usefulpractical information on these medications:The introduction provides useful tips abouteach class of medication that practitioners arelikely to employ including antidepressants (older

Copyright # 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Psycho-OncologyPsycho-Oncology 16: 502–503 (2007)Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com).

and newer classes), anti-anxiety agents, hypnoticsand antipsychotics. One important limitation ofthis chapter is that it does not adequately addressthe issue of drug-drug interactions (which isdiscussed briefly in other sections) nor does itprovide an explanation of the pathways by whichthese recommended drugs are metabolized (whichis really outside the scope of this condensed book).The space limitations of this book were espe-

cially challenging when the authors attempted toaddress the issue of psychological, non-pharmaco-logical interventions in Chapter 5. While thischapter also provided useful tables, the introduc-tions to the various forms of therapy (cognitivebehavioral, physical exercise, support groups andcomplementary treatments) were brief and notcomprehensive. A list of references that the readercould consult for additional information regardingthese different treatment modalities is provided.Two chapters that are especially noteworthy are

Chapters 7 and 8 which address physical symptommanagement and communication strategies respec-tively. Chapter 7 addresses fatigue (includingmethods for distinguishing fatigue from depres-sion), pain (including screening methods, treat-ments and advice on when to call for a painmanagement consultation), nausea and vomiting,and sexual dysfunction. Chapter 8 is an especially

interesting chapter. This chapter provides specificsuggestions for how caretakers can most empathi-cally and effectively approach patients whendelivering bad news (a common task of thoseproviding care to cancer patients). The section ofthis chapter on supporting parents with cancer isparticularly practical and helpful in that it providesspecific strategies for helping parents diagnosedwith cancer in their communications with theirchildren about their illness.Overall Quick Reference for Oncology Clinicians:

The Psychiatric and Psychological Dimensions ofCancer Symptom Management succeeds nobly inachieving its stated goals and the editors andauthors are to be commended for their efforts.This book should be part of the arsenal of cancerpatients’ caretakers. It will prove to be an essentialprimer to oncologists, nurses, and mental healthpractitioners involved in the care of cancerpatients.

James J. Strain, MD and Mark Loigman, MDDepartment of Psychiatry

Mount Sinai School of Medicine1 G.L. Levy Place, New York

New York 10029, USADOI: 10.1002/pon.1143

Copyright # 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Psycho-Oncology 16: 502–503 (2007)

DOI: 10.1002/pon

503Book review