Edited by R.M. Carroll-Johnson, L.M. Gorman, and N.J. Bush (with 36 contributing authors). Pittsburgh, Pa: Oncology Nursing Society Publishing Division; 2006. ONS Members $55.00, Non-members $80.00. ISBN 1-8905-0457-2. 688 pp.

This book is developed for nurses and other healthcare providers who work with persons diagnosed with cancer. The36 chapters are divided into 6 thematic sections. Each chapter is a review of literature pertaining to the concept addressed in a given chapter and includes current and classical references.

Section I consists of 2 chapters that focus on the psychosocial impact of cancer diagnosis and survivorship on the individual, family, and society. Section II consists of 10 chapters that focus on factors that influence the psychosocial experience of cancer. These factors include the meaning of life, coping and adaptation, sex and age differences, cultural influences, spirituality, hope, pain, suffering, fatigue, and cognitive impairment. Section III consists of 10 chapters that focus on the psychological and emotional reactions of persons who are confronted with cancer, including anxiety, anger, depression and suicide, denial, body image disturbance, grief, guilt, altered sexuality, delirium and dementia, and powerlessness. Section IV consists of 6 chapters that present psychosocial interventions. The interventions include interpersonal and therapeutic skills, crisis intervention, psychosocial support, technological advances, end-of-life care, and psychoneuroimmunology. Section V consists of 6 chapters termed "special topics." The topics addressed are experimental therapy, genetic susceptibility testing, stem cell transplantation, complementary and alternative medicine, ethical issues, and substance abuse. Section VI consists of 2 chapters that focus on caregivers-stress management for oncology nurses and caring for family caregivers. The book is closed with a 34-page appendix of resources for cancer survivors. The appendix is divided by topic (eg, bone marrow transplant, lung cancer, pain) and lists the resource contact information (address, telephone, Web site), fees, type of resource, and target population.

The text would be a useful reference for graduate nursing students who will be caregivers of oncology patients. It is certainly not a stand-alone text. For those programs that prepare nurses to provide bedside care, additional resources that address applications in clinical practice would be needed.