Some people suffer from chronic, debilitating disorders for which no conventional treatment brings relief. Can marijuana ease their symptoms? Would it be breaking the law to turn to marijuana as a medication? There are few sources of objective, scientifically sound advice for people in this situation. Most books about marijuana and medicine attempt to promote the views of advocates or opponents. To fill the gap between these extremes, authors Alison Mack and Janet Joy have extracted critical findings from a recent Institute of Medicine study on this important issue, interpreting them for a general audience. Marijuana As Medicine? provides patientsâ€"as well as the people who care for themâ€"with a foundation for making decisions about their own health care. This empowering volume examines several key points, including: Whether marijuana can relieve a variety of symptoms, including pain, muscle spasticity, nausea, and appetite loss. The dangers of smoking marijuana, as well as the effects of its active chemical components on the immune system and on psychological health. The potential use of marijuana-based medications on symptoms of AIDS, cancer, multiple sclerosis, and several other specific disorders, in comparison with existing treatments. Marijuana As Medicine? introduces readers to the active compounds in marijuana. These include the principal ingredient in Marinol, a legal medication. The authors also discuss the prospects for developing other drugs derived from marijuana's active ingredients. In addition to providing an up-to-date review of the science behind the medical marijuana debate, Mack and Joy also answer common questions about the legal status of marijuana, explaining the conflict between state and federal law regarding its medical use. Intended primarily as an aid to patients and caregivers, this book objectively presents critical information so that it can be used to make responsible health care decisions. Marijuana As Medicine? will also be a valuable resource for policymakers, health care providers, patient counselors, medical faculty and studentsâ€"in short, anyone who wants to learn more about this important issue.

Early recognition and management of adverse effects of cancer treatments are essential for optimal care of patients with cancer, and drastically different approaches are required for different physiologic reactions. Handbook of Cancer Treatment-Related Symptoms and Toxicities is a focused, one-stop resource that enables clinicians to quickly find up-to-date, reliable information needed at the point of care. The high-yield approach prioritizes the most common toxicities associated with cancer treatment, and concise, templated chapters offer fast access to information needed in day-to-day practice. - Presents a user-friendly overview of cancer treatment-related symptoms and toxicities management in a practical, easy-to-use format, allowing you to quickly find information in one convenient, concise resource. - Covers systemic and radiation therapies, including chemotherapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapies, and radiation therapy, detailing symptoms of each toxicity to confirm your diagnosis. - Overviews pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic approaches to symptom management. - Offers recommendations for mitigating toxicities in high-risk patients. - Discusses key topics such as management of infusion reactions, when the need for biopsy is warranted, and the unique challenges posed by novel immunotherapies.

Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) has emerged as an important innovative treatment for various primary and metastatic cancers. This book provides a comprehensive and up-to-date account of the physical/technological, biological, and clinical aspects of SBRT. It will serve as a detailed resource for this rapidly developing treatment modality. The organ sites covered include lung, liver, spine, pancreas, prostate, adrenal, head and neck, and female reproductive tract. Retrospective studies and prospective clinical trials on SBRT for various organ sites from around the world are examined, and toxicities and normal tissue constraints are discussed. This book features unique insights from world-renowned experts in SBRT from North America, Asia, and Europe. It will be necessary reading for radiation oncologists, radiation oncology residents and fellows, medical physicists, medical physics residents, medical oncologists, surgical oncologists, and cancer scientists.

Adjuvant treatment is administered prior to or as follow up to surgical procedures for breast cancer. Proven success in using medical therapies allowing for breast conserving procedures or reducing risk of occurrence. Although there has been much progress towards a cure, including the introduction of new targeted therapies, metastasizing cancer remains highly incurable.

Perfect for radiation oncology physicians and residents needing a multidisciplinary, treatment-focused resource, this updated edition continues to provide the latest knowledge in this consistently growing field. Not only will you broaden your understanding of the basic biology of disease processes, you'll also access updated treatment algorithms, information on techniques, and state-of-the-art modalities. The consistent and concise format provides just the right amount of information, making Clinical Radiation Oncology a welcome resource for use by the entire radiation oncology team. Content is templated and divided into three sections -- Scientific Foundations of Radiation Oncology, Techniques and Modalities, and Disease Sites - for quick access to information. Disease Sites chapters summarize the most important issues on the opening page and include a full-color format, liberal use of tables and figures, a closing section with a discussion of controversies and problems, and a treatment algorithm that reflects the treatment approach of the authors. Chapters have been edited for scientific accuracy, organization, format, and adequacy of outcome data (such as disease control, survival, and treatment tolerance). Allows you to examine the therapeutic management of specific disease sites based on single-modality and combined-modality approaches. Features an emphasis on providing workup and treatment algorithms for each major disease process, as well as the coverage of molecular biology and its relevance to individual diseases. Two new chapters provide an increased emphasis on stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and stereotactic body irradiation (SBRT). New Associate Editor, Dr. Andrea Ng, offers her unique perspectives to the Lymphoma and Hematologic Malignancies section. Key Points are summarized at the beginning of each disease-site chapter, mirroring the template headings and highlighting essential information and outcomes. Treatment algorithms and techniques, together with discussions of controversies and problems, reflect the treatment approaches employed by the authors. Disease Site Overviews allow each section editor to give a unique perspective on important issues, while online updates to Disease Site chapters ensure your knowledge is current. Disease Site chapters feature updated information on disease management and outcomes. Four videos accessible on Expert Consult include Intraoperative Irradiation, Prostate Brachytherapy, Penile Brachytherapy, and Ocular Melanoma. Thirty all-new anatomy drawings increase your visual understanding. Expert Consult eBook version included with purchase. This enhanced eBook experience allows you to search all of the text, figures, and references from the book on a variety of devices.

Integrative Strategies for Cancer Patients is the definitive resource on the benefits of integrative therapies during cancer treatment. The book does not need to be read cover to cover to learn about integrative medicine. Instead it is meant to be a reference handbook for managing the most common side effects afflicting patients with cancer. Integrative Strategies for Cancer Patients provides hands-on guidance with illustrations demonstrating how to use complementary/alternative therapies during cancer treatment. Some of the techniques you will learn about in this book are:100% of the royalties from this book will benefit the Integrative Therapies Program at Columbia University Medical Center. The proceeds will provide additional support for research in the field of complementary/alternative medicine.

Drug Repurposing in Cancer Therapy: Approaches and Applications provides comprehensive and updated information from experts in basic science research and clinical practice on how existing drugs can be repurposed for cancer treatment. The book summarizes successful stories that may assist researchers in the field to better design their studies for new repurposing projects. Sections discuss specific topics such as in silico prediction and high throughput screening of repurposed drugs, drug repurposing for overcoming chemoresistance and eradicating cancer stem cells, and clinical investigation on combination of repurposed drug and anticancer therapy. Cancer researchers, oncologists, pharmacologists and several members of biomedical field who are interested in learning more about the use of existing drugs for different purposes in cancer therapy will find this to be a valuable resource. - Presents a systematic and up-to-date collection of the research underpinning the various drug repurposing approaches for a quick, but in-depth understanding on current trends in drug repurposing research - Brings better understanding of the drug repurposing process in a holistic way, combining both basic and clinical sciences - Encompasses a collection of successful stories of drug repurposing for cancer therapy in different cancer types

Since the late 1960s, the survival rate in children and adolescents diagnosed with cancer has steadily improved, with a corresponding decline in the cancer-specific death rate. Although the improvements in survival are encouraging, they have come at the cost of acute, chronic, and late adverse effects precipitated by the toxicities associated with the individual or combined use of different types of treatment (e.g., surgery, radiation, chemotherapy). In some cases, the impairments resulting from cancer and its treatment are severe enough to qualify a child for U.S. Social Security Administration disability benefits. At the request of Social Security Administration, Childhood Cancer and Functional Impacts Across the Care Continuum provides current information and findings and conclusions regarding the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of selected childhood cancers, including different types of malignant solid tumors, and the effect of those cancers on childrenâ (TM)s health and functional capacity, including the relative levels of functional limitation typically associated with the cancers and their treatment. This report also provides a summary of selected treatments currently being studied in clinical trials and identifies any limitations on the availability of these treatments, such as whether treatments are available only in certain geographic areas.