Surgical Oncology [antikvár]

SERIES PREFACE The ímpetus for this series carne from the intellectually and emotionally dif-ficult experiences my colleagues and I have encountered when attempting to make decisions about the best treatments for patients who have cáncer. The patient's and physician's anxiety about the disease and the toxic treatments necessary for its eradication hamper reasoned discussions and charge the at-mosphere with hidden messages. The physician's own fears of deatH and fail-ure to cure enhance the intensity of this interchange. Unfortunately the resultant decisión in each patient's case often only partly rests on scientific doctrine. Science deals predominantly with measurable quantities such as survival, but the quality of life as it is perceived in each situation is equally important. Therefore discussion of controversy in cáncer is not and should not be only a cataloging of scientinc facts but must also contain intuitive and affective measurements of human valué. Each of the books in this series is unique. Some editors chose to explore a vast range of topics; others chose to narrow down the number of issues and explore them in greater depth. Not all sides of each issue are presented, for the editor feit in some cases that only one or two points of view should be elaborated. For some, only one point of view was thought necessary, in which instances the contributor included a discussion of the standard, accepted opinion in addition to setting forth his or her position. The series was con-ceived of as a whole; as a result some issues are discussed in only one book because of space constraints, but would have been appropriate for other books in the series as well. On the other hand, other controversies are included in more than one book and are addressed by a different group of dis-cussants in each; these controversies were repeated because of their universal appeal and current interest.