Palliative Care in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: From, Diagnosis to Bereavement - Tapa dura

...an excellent resource for any health care professional who is involved in the care of patients with ALS. For those of us who see patients with ALS relatively infrequently, access to a reference such as this is invaluable, which makes this book a must for the library shelf of any palliative care unit managing these patients. (Roger Woodruff)

This book makes and essential reading for Palliative care physicians, Palliative care nurses and GPs involved in care ALS. Although this book is written on the subject of palliative care in ALS sclerosis however, good practices can extrapolated to palliative care of other neurological conditions. (BMA Medical Book Competition 2007)

This book is well written and thorough. I am not aware of another book that provides such a comprehensive treatment of the palliative aspects of ALS in a way that the clinician can use it often. (Doody's Notes)

Amytrophic Lateral Sclerosis (or motor neurone disease) is a rare disease but one that can cause profound suffering for both the patient and their family. Whilst new treatments for ALS are being developed, these are not curative and offer only the potential to slow its progression. Palliative care must therefore be integral to the clinical approach to the disease. Palliative Care in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: From diagnosis to bereavement reflects the wide scope of this care; it must cover not just the terminal phase, but support the patient and their family from the onset of the disease.

Both the multidisciplinary palliative care team and the neurology team are essential in providing a high standard of care and allowing quality of life (both patient and carer) to be maintained. Clear guidelines are provided to address care throughout the disease process. Control of symptoms is covered alongside the psychosocial care of patients and their families, culminating in discussion of bereavement. The experience of patients and families is considered and case studies are provided to show the practical application of the theoretical knowledge. Different models of care are explored, and this new edition utilises the increase in both the evidence-base and available literature on the subject. Additional chapters on nursing, spiritual care, decision making, and ethical issues surrounding end of life care ensure that this new edition remains the essential guide to palliative care in ALS.