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Cancer Survivorship: Today and Tomorrow. P.A. Ganz, ed. Springer, New York, 2007. ISBN: 978 0 387 34349 5, 304 pp. £48.50. The term ‘cancer survivorship’ has become a buzzword in the US in the past few years, as the numbers of cancer survivors grow and include high-profile individuals such as current presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani and Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong. Advances in early detection and treatment, population ageing, and a decline in competing causes of death have contributed to greater numbers of survivors. However, as Cancer Survivorship amply documents, being cured of cancer does not mean being free of cancer’s effects: many survivors continue to experience a wide range of physical and psychosocial sequelae of the disease and treatment. Editor Patricia Ganz is an internationally renowned researcher with extensive pioneering work on survivor- ship. For this edited volume, she has enlisted outstanding contributors. Much research to date has been based in North America, as reflected in the citations and affilia- tions of the authors, most of whom (35 of 42) are US-based. The authorship is noteworthy for its multidis- ciplinary composition, including researchers, clinicians, and a lawyer. One of my favourite parts of the book were the first three chapters, in which a medical oncologist, a nurse and a social worker all provided perspectives from their vantage points as clinician, cancer survivor or both. The inclusion of first-person narratives provided a nice coun- terpoint to the heavily referenced chapters that followed and, in a subtle way, reminded the reader that cancer survivorship ultimately comes down to the experience of each individual. The remaining 19 chapters cover the entire field of cancer survivorship, from comprehensive overviews of the adult and paediatric literature, to reviews of specific cancer types (Hodgkin’s disease, testicular, gynaecologi- cal, breast, prostate, lung, colorectal), concerns (psychoso- cial, reproductive, employment) and special topics (transplant survivors, the elderly, second cancers, advo- cacy). The text concludes with a forward-looking over- view of survivorship care plans, which provide survivors with personalized guidelines for their future care and sur- veillance as they transition from active cancer treatment. This text provides an in-depth look at where this field has been, where it is, and a hint of where it may be going. It will be an invaluable resource for the growing numbers of researchers and clinicians in this field. For experienced readers, this text provides a ‘one stop shop’ for succinct reviews of the literature, as well as detailed tables and extensive reference lists. For someone new to the field, this text is a great way to gain a sense of the state of the science. What could be improved? As with many edited volumes, there is some repetition across chapters. This should not be a concern to most readers who (unlike book reviewers) are unlikely to read the book from beginning to end at one time, and it allows each chapter to stand on its own. There are certain topics that would have added inter- est, such as cancer survivorship’s impact on the family, cultural considerations and international trends. Let us hope that the next edition of this book will include these topics and many more, as research on cancer survivorship – perhaps inspired by this book – moves forward. CAROLYN GOTAY Professor, Director, Prevention and Control Program, Cancer Research Center of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA (e-mail: [email protected]) DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2354.2007.00915.x European Journal of Cancer Care, 2010, 19, e1 Book review © 2009 The Author Journal compilation © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Cancer Survivorship: Today and Tomorrow

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Cancer Survivorship: Today and Tomorrow. P.A. Ganz,ed. Springer, New York, 2007. ISBN: 978 0 387 34349 5,304 pp. £48.50.

The term ‘cancer survivorship’ has become a buzzword inthe US in the past few years, as the numbers of cancersurvivors grow and include high-profile individuals suchas current presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani and Tourde France champion Lance Armstrong. Advances in earlydetection and treatment, population ageing, and a declinein competing causes of death have contributed to greaternumbers of survivors. However, as Cancer Survivorshipamply documents, being cured of cancer does not meanbeing free of cancer’s effects: many survivors continue toexperience a wide range of physical and psychosocialsequelae of the disease and treatment.

Editor Patricia Ganz is an internationally renownedresearcher with extensive pioneering work on survivor-ship. For this edited volume, she has enlisted outstandingcontributors. Much research to date has been based inNorth America, as reflected in the citations and affilia-tions of the authors, most of whom (35 of 42) areUS-based. The authorship is noteworthy for its multidis-ciplinary composition, including researchers, clinicians,and a lawyer.

One of my favourite parts of the book were the firstthree chapters, in which a medical oncologist, a nurse anda social worker all provided perspectives from theirvantage points as clinician, cancer survivor or both. Theinclusion of first-person narratives provided a nice coun-terpoint to the heavily referenced chapters that followedand, in a subtle way, reminded the reader that cancersurvivorship ultimately comes down to the experience ofeach individual.

The remaining 19 chapters cover the entire field of

cancer survivorship, from comprehensive overviews of theadult and paediatric literature, to reviews of specificcancer types (Hodgkin’s disease, testicular, gynaecologi-cal, breast, prostate, lung, colorectal), concerns (psychoso-cial, reproductive, employment) and special topics(transplant survivors, the elderly, second cancers, advo-cacy). The text concludes with a forward-looking over-view of survivorship care plans, which provide survivorswith personalized guidelines for their future care and sur-veillance as they transition from active cancer treatment.

This text provides an in-depth look at where this field hasbeen, where it is, and a hint of where it may be going. It willbe an invaluable resource for the growing numbers ofresearchers and clinicians in this field. For experiencedreaders, this text provides a ‘one stop shop’ for succinctreviews of the literature, as well as detailed tables andextensive reference lists. For someone new to the field, thistext is a great way to gain a sense of the state of the science.

What could be improved? As with many editedvolumes, there is some repetition across chapters. Thisshould not be a concern to most readers who (unlike bookreviewers) are unlikely to read the book from beginning toend at one time, and it allows each chapter to stand on itsown. There are certain topics that would have added inter-est, such as cancer survivorship’s impact on the family,cultural considerations and international trends. Let ushope that the next edition of this book will include thesetopics and many more, as research on cancer survivorship– perhaps inspired by this book – moves forward.

CAROLYN GOTAYProfessor, Director, Prevention and Control Program,

Cancer Research Center of Hawaii,Honolulu, HI, USA

(e-mail: [email protected])

DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2354.2007.00915.x

European Journal of Cancer Care, 2010, 19, e1

Book review

© 2009 The AuthorJournal compilation © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd