Supportive care for cancer patients, as Ettinger (Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins) explains in his foreword, is "for symptoms related to the cancer and/or its treatment; physical, psychosocial, and emotional issues associated with the cancer; and, finally, end-of-life decisions." In this work, he presents 16 chapters that review the most common supportive care issues for cancer patients. They cover the usual consequences of the cancer itself--dyspnea, skeletal metastases, cancer pain, anorexia and cachexia, fatigue, and deep vein thrombophlebitis and clotting problems--as well as the consequences of treatment--anemia, myeloid growth factors, nausea and vomiting, oral mucositis, constipation and diarrhea, and menopausal symptoms. Chapters are also included on depression, treating elderly patients with cancer, complementary and alternative medicine, and end-of-life decisions. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)