Emergencies in Oncology

One in three of the population of the UK will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime, many of whom become acutely ill and require emergency treatment. Also, patients with undiagnosed cancer can present with oncological emergencies and therefore doctors in specialist oncology units, emergency departments and indeed almost any medical and surgical speciality need to be aware of the specific challenges presented by the acutely ill patient with cancer. This book seeks to provide an easily accessible evidence based guide to the diagnosis and management of acutely ill patients with cancer. The scope of the book is limited to those emergencies directly caused by the cancer or by its treatment and those conditions where there is a strong predisposition caused by the cancer. Many of these emergencies will be familiar to non-oncologists, however others will not. Any delay caused by unfamiliarity can have disastrous results, for example irreversible neurological deficit in unrecognised spinal cord compression. Not all the emergencies covered in this book require immediate recognition and treatment to prevent potential fatal outcomes, however, all these conditions require urgent action to reduce morbidity and distressing symptoms for patients. The book therefore provides practical guidance on the management of the acute and distressing symptoms that often arise in the ill cancer patient.

About the Author :
Martin Scott-Brown, Specialist Registrar in Clinical Oncology, Oxford Radcliffe Trust, Roy AJ Spence, Consultant Surgeon, Belfast City Hospital; Honorary Professor, Queen's University Belfast and Honorary Professor, University of Ulster, Patrick Johnston, Professor of Oncology, Belfast City Hospital and Queen's University Belfast and Director of the Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology, Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland; Dean, Belfast Medical School Martin Scott-Brown achieved a first class degree in Biochemistry from Oxford University prior to embarking on his medical training. He was awarded a first class degree for his pre-clinical training at Cambridge University, and then returned to Oxford to complete his clinical training at the John Radcliffe Hospital. He was awarded the Oxford University Roche Prize in Laboratory Medicine, the George Pickering Prize and the Margaret Harris Memorial Prize. He completed his general medical rotations in the Oxford region before spending three months working at The Royal Marsden Hospital, London. He was appointed to the Oxford Regional Clinical Oncology Training Rotation in November 2004 Professor RAJ Spence, OBE, JP, MA, MD, FRCS, has been a Consultant Surgeon in the Belfast City Hospital for over 20 years specialising in oncological surgery. He is also Pro-Chancellor of the University of Ulster and holds Honorary Professorships in both Queen's University Belfast and the University of Ulster. He has approximately 200 papers and abstracts published in peer-reviewed journals and has 15 textbooks published or in press. He has given over 100 invited lectures in the USA, South Africa and the Far East. He is currently an Examiner in the Intercollegiate MRCS and FRCS in General Surgery. Dr Patrick Johnston is Professor of Oncology and Director of the Centre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology at Queen's University Belfast. Prior to taking up these posts Dr Johnston was a medical staff fellow and subsequently a senior investigator at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in the USA, from 1987-1996. During that time, he received the Young Investigator Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the Technology Award from the National Cancer Institute. Dr Johnston has published over 150 peer review articles and co-edited 3 textbooks, including Oncologic Emergencies. He sits on several national and international scientific boards and is on the editorial boards of several leading international oncology journals, including the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Clinical Cancer Research, The Oncologist, Clinical Colorectal Cancer and PLoS Medicine.