Wherever you are in your career, and whatever involvement you have with caring for women with breast cancer, the fifth edition of 'Fast Facts: Breast Cancer' has something for you. The world-class authors of this popular fact-packed handbook provide practical advice on all the key areas of breast cancer management, from risk factors and diagnosis to treatment of all cancer stages. But what really makes it stand out from the crowd is the authors' awareness of the information you need when you talk to a woman concerned about breast cancer. The chapter dedicated to perception of risk will refresh your knowledge and help you talk to your patients about their individual prospects, while the short chapter on clinical trials will help you discuss potential participation in trials and answer common questions. Improvements in the management of breast cancer have followed three major themes in recent years: greater optimization of individualized local treatment, longer duration of therapies, and the use of biological therapies targeted at specific receptors. This colorful up-to-date handbook addresses all these trends, alongside the disturbing issues of overdiagnosis as a result of screening and overtreatment. Given the explosion in information technology, patients and their families have access to much more information on their condition and as a result assume a more active role in their medical management. Health professionals have an important role in helping patients sort the facts from the fallacies, put the risks and benefits into perspective and balance their treatment choices. For this reason alone, 'Fast Facts: Breast Cancer' is an invaluable evidence-based resource for everyone working in breast cancer care in primary and secondary settings, from medical and nursing students, to GPs, specialist nurses and residents. And one for your patients too … The authors encourage you to make your patients well-informed active partners in their breast cancer care by sharing this highly readable book with them. Contents: • Risk factors • Perception of risk • Pathophysiology • Diagnosis • Local control of primary tumor • Adjuvant therapy • Follow-up and rehabilitation • Management of advanced cancer • Clinical trials • Future trends • Useful resources

Not to broach the subject of excess weight with a patient is a dereliction of duty as a healthcare professional, say the authors of 'Fast Facts: Obesity'. "Patients who smoke are rapidly identified for intervention, and the same should be true of anyone who is obese". Every consultation is an opportunity to educate and encourage patients to pursue better health. 'Fast Facts: Obesity' is packed with practical advice on how best to support patients to improve their nutrition and levels of physical activity, and change their habits, with simple and achievable goals tailored to individual needs and concerns. This highly readable handbook also provides a comprehensive overview of: • the causes and consequences of obesity • the latest information on pharmacological and surgical options • the issues specific to the management of obesity in children, pregnant women and the elderly. The authors say: “The opportunity to educate others and exert influence can be leveraged at many levels, even with limited amounts of time.” Reading 'Fast Facts: Obesity' is an excellent starting point for any healthcare professional who wants to understand this major threat to human health and ultimately improve outcomes. Contents: • Patient assessment • Causes and science • Cardiometabolic consequences • Other consequences • Management: diet • Management: physical activity • Management: behavioral therapy • Pharmacological and surgical treatments • Children, the elderly and pregnant women • Management tools, prevention and advocacy • Useful resources • The health risks of excess weight figure

'Fast Facts: Menopause' is a concise handbook designed to provide an overview of menopausal and postmenopausal health issues and their management. Although effective therapies for symptoms are available, controversies surrounding some of the available treatments have made potential users wary. In the second edition of this succinct and practical text, two eminent specialists review, in detail, the causes and consequences of menopausal symptoms, and the options available to women today. The text is evidence-based, drawing on the results of the most recent research to provide general practitioners, specialist nurses, gynaecologists and other healthcare professionals with an increased understanding of the physiological and psychological effects of the menopause and to contribute to more effective management. Contents: • Stages, effects and implications • Vasomotor function • Osteoporosis • Urogenital changes • Neurological symptoms • Sexuality • Symptom management • Types of hormone therapy • Side effects of hormone therapy • Endometrial bleeding with hormone therapy • Risks of hormone therapy • Tibolone • Alternatives to hormone therapy.

Dermatological surgery is practised routinely in primary care, and most minor procedures are straightforward and require minimal time. Success is dependent on the practitioner's ability to recognize lesions, choose and plan appropriate treatment and surgical interventions, and perform surgical procedures. 'Fast Facts: Minor Surgery', second edition provides an overview of the good practice and operative set-up required for dermatological surgery, the skin lesions commonly encountered in primary care and the various techniques and procedures involved in their treatment. Contents: • Operative set-up and equipment • Local anesthesia • Lesion identification and management • Treatment planning • Avoiding complications • Suturing techniques and removal • Surgical procedures • Examinng your practice

When it comes to detecting, diagnosing and treating women who have, or are suspected of having, ovarian cancer, there are significant opportunities for well-informed healthcare professionals to intervene in a meaningful way. 'Fast Facts: Ovarian Cancer' examines the areas that will have the biggest effect in clinical practice, including: • the evidence for and against screening • the valuable role of genetic testing in identifying at-risk women • if and when to operate • strategies to overcome platinum resistance • the impact of targeted therapies. From the tools that will help establish a swift diagnosis to the risks and benefits of palliative salvage surgery, this refreshingly readable resource captures the key knowledge that every busy healthcare professional needs in order to make better health decisions for patients with ovarian cancer. Contents: • Epidemiology and prevention • Pathophysiology and classification • Genetic testing • Diagnosis, staging and grading • Surgery • Chemotherapy • Recurrent ovarian cancer • Targeted therapies • Non-epithelial ovarian cancers • Follow-up and palliative surgery • Useful resources

The first book to provide an insider view of the latest advances and trends in the full range of clinical subspecialty areas. Fast Facts for Nurse Practitioners: Practice Essentials for Clinical Subspecialties takes the busy advanced practice provider or student on a journey through the clinical subspecialties. The author, a highly experienced nurse practitioner, has immersed herself in each of these clinical areas and interviewed medical specialists to identify the latest advances, trends, and tips to more confidently and competently assess, diagnose, manage, and refer patients across the lifespan. The book addresses hot topics in allergy and immunology, cardiology, dermatology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, hematology and oncology, infectious disease, nephrology, neurology, obstetrics and gynecology, ophthalmology, orthopedics, otolaryngology, pediatrics, psychiatry, pulmonology, rheumatology, and urology. Each chapter provides information on common chief complaints, pathophysiology, diagnostic considerations, and key points for management or referral. This concise reference provides evidence-based strategies for managing ever-changing patient needs in an easy-to-digest format. Key Features: Serves the needs of advanced practice providers and students Offers the latest advances and trends for all clinical subspecialty areas in one concise, quick-reference resource Provides evidence-based guidelines to support the principles of assessment, differential diagnosis, management, and referral Highlights only the most relevant and timely information, allowing readers to save time, stay current, and improve patient outcomes

Our understanding of the biology of bladder cancer has advanced remarkably since the second edition of 'Fast Facts: Bladder Cancer' was published in 2006. Five new immunotherapies targeting the PD-1 axis were approved in 2016 and 2017 for the treatment of advanced bladder cancer, reflecting this transformative explosion in knowledge about the biology of the disease. This new era of targeted treatment offers hope to patients, particularly those with advanced disease. However, for clinicians it means a lot to understand in terms of how these immunotherapies are integrated into the treatment paradigm. Who they are suitable for? When are they best used? What is the optimal sequence of treatments for individual patients? This third edition of 'Fast Facts: Bladder Cancer' has been updated extensively throughout by two new authors, bringing a fresh perspective. Key updates include: • the latest understanding of pathology and biology • current standards for investigation, imaging and diagnosis • the critical role that awareness of the significance of hematuria among patients and primary care health professionals can make to earlier detection at curable stages of the disease • the roles of drugs, surgery and radiation therapy in treatment at different stages of bladder cancer, and when and how best to intervene, aided by understanding of the risk factors for disease relapse and progression • a new chapter about immunotherapy for bladder cancer • future trends in a rapidly evolving field. 'Fast Facts: Bladder Cancer' is a concise guide that will be of value to clinicians and health professionals involved in the detection and treatment of bladder cancer. This highly readable resource provides a comprehensive and current view of this complex disease, enabling informed discussions with patients. Contents: • Epidemiology and etiology • Pathology and biology • Clinical presentation • Investigations • Management of non-muscle-invasive disease • Management of muscle-invasive disease • Management of advanced and metastatic disease • Immunotherapy • Future trends • Useful resources

All health professionals, regardless of specialty, will care for patients with pain that has persisted for more than 6 months. This fully updated fourth edition of 'Fast Facts: Chronic and Cancer Pain', written by two internationally renowned experts in the field, is designed to bring busy health professionals up to speed with the latest information in this area, including: • Easy-to-read overviews of pain mechanisms • A practical approach to pain assessment • Developments in stepped care and multimodal management • The latest thinking on opioids With health services around the world responding to calls to improve the management of painful long-term conditions, develop preventive and cost-effective solutions, and respond to patient choice and voice, this easy-to-read fact-packed book is essential reading for all GPs, nurses, junior hospital doctors, physical therapists, clinical psychologists, occupational therapists, pharmacists, medical specialists and medical students wanting - and needing - to know more. Contents: • Definitions and mechanisms • Assessment of pain • Treatment options • Trigeminal neuralgia • Complex regional pain syndrome • Diabetic and postherpetic neuropathic pain Central pain • Persistent postsurgical pain • Cancer pain • Musculoskeletal pain • Visceral pain • Headache

Despite the availability of many effective treatments, there remains a therapeutic nihilism associated with brain tumors. This highly readable second edition of 'Fast Facts: Brain Tumors' challenges this view, starting from the premise that patients with brain tumors can truly benefit from a thoughtful multidisciplinary approach. This comprehensive handbook covers all the salient features of the various brain tumors and treatment modalities in a way that will be useful to the practicing clinician. • Advances in radiology and pathology that have led to more precise and detailed diagnoses • Developments in molecular biology and imaging techniques that have improved available diagnostic modalities • New neurosurgical techniques that have enabled operations on tumors that were previously considered inoperable • Novel delivery systems that allow various treatments to reach tumors that are otherwise protected by the blood-brain barrier. This fully updated edition of 'Fast Facts: Brain Tumors' bridges the gap between primary care providers - whose role is pivotal in tumor detection and subsequent patient care - and first-level specialists such as general neurologists and neurosurgeons. Its key message is that selection of the best initial approach for an individual patient will result in the best overall outcome, both in terms of survival and quality of life. 'Fast Facts: Brain Tumors' is specifically for the primary care physician whose role is pivotal in tumor detection and subsequent patient care. Contents: • Classification and epidemiology • Diagnosis • Treatment • Brain metastases • Gliomas • Meningiomas • Neuronal tumors • Pineal region tumors • Skull base tumors • Primary central nervous system lymphoma • Brain tumor syndromes and tumor-like cysts • Geriatric neuro-oncology • Useful resources