Central Nervous System Cancers

Considered one of the most devastating and frightening of all cancers, cancers of the central nervous system (CNS) attack the complex organs that control not only the CNS but also the peripheral nervous system and many of the voluntary and involuntary body systems, with 20% to 40% of CNS cancers metastasizing to the brain. Site-Specific Cancer Series: Central Nervous System Cancers, a new volume in the Series edited by Deborah Hutchinson Allen and Laurie L. Rice, details the cancers of the brain and spinal cord. Chapters examine issues such as anatomy and physiology of the brain and spine, patient assessment, pathology, histology, and molecular markers of primary brain tumors, and adult and pediatric cancers of the brain and spinal cord. Other issues include treatment modalities (surgical treatments, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy), as well as pediatric therapeutic modalities, symptom management and psychological issues, and the current state of evidence-based practice. You can use this new volume as a guide to treating your patients and to providing sensitive and realistic care that optimizes the quality of life and permits a sense of hopefulness to prevail when many patients with type of cancer feel only pain and fear.