Who Should Read This Book
In Western societies and other developed countries, cancer is the leading cause of
death, after cardiovascular disease. It is therefore a major component of medical
undergraduate curricula and of primary concern to nurses and allied health
workers.
Presently most undergraduate students learn about cancer from a broad range of
general and specialist books and journals. Medical students read about cancer in
textbooks of surgery, pathology and cancer medicine as well as in general and specialist
journals and from time to time in newspaper reports, in magazines and from
various other sources.
We the authors teach, practise and conduct research in different specialty areas in
different parts of the world. We agreed that we should write this book as an easily
understood and general overview of cancer for students of medicine, nurse oncologists,
students of medical sciences and other health professionals in all parts of the
world. It is intended to serve as a basis for more detailed or specialised studies that
will be needed in different areas of practice and in different countries. Different
countries will emphasise different aspects according to their more specifi c community
needs, incidence, traditions and available healthcare facilities and systems.
What This Book Is About
This book is intended to give an introduction to the scientifi c and clinical aspects of
cancer, that is, the broad range of concepts of causes, pathology, clinical features,
possible investigations, treatments and outcomes both for cancers in general and for
the common cancers in different countries. It should be a basis for further study as
appropriate for all areas of oncology no matter where it is practised or in what particular
professional discipline. The purpose of this book is not to cover all social,
personal, environmental or fi nancial aspects of cancer nor to discuss details of supportive
services available. These important aspects will differ in different countries
with different social, medical and administrative services and facilities as well as
different traditional practices and requirements. Ideal comprehensive facilities and
services may or may not be available. Other books, specifi cally written for students
and practitioners in different countries with different curriculum requirements, may
be needed to cover these aspects.
Objective of This Book
The objective of this book is to develop graded information from very basic to more
sophisticated understanding of present knowledge about cancer. For some students,
this may well meet all their needs, but for students wishing to undertake further
studies in cancer, this book will serve as a sound basis for more detailed or specifi c
studies.
To achieve this, the book will:
• Cover basic medical, scientifi c and clinical aspects of cancer.
• Explain how and why people develop cancer.
• Indicate how the body reacts to cancer.
• Describe how cancer presents.
• Outline principles of cancer prevention, investigation, diagnosis and
management.
This information applies in all countries. It is the essential requirement for understanding
cancer no matter where studied or practised. We believe this basic information
about cancer is best introduced early in a student’s career before other details
of personal, psychological, social and management practices and traditions are studied
in detail in different communities.
More detailed and comprehensive information on specialised areas of knowledge,
research and practice is expanded in more specialised books and publications,
some of which are listed in the fi nal section of this book.
Frederick O. Stephens , AM, MD, MS, FRCS (Ed), FACS, FRACS
Sydney , NSW , Australia
Karl Reinhard Aigner , MD
Burghausen , Germany
0 comments:
Post a Comment