Fast Facts
This Growth House feature presents the EPERC Fast Facts series in online web tutorial form. Developed in partnership with the End of Life Physician Education Resource Center (EPERC). Fast Facts is a collection of quick tutorials on common issues in palliative care. Intended for use by health care professionals, they can also be read with benefit by the general public. Issues covered include pain management, symptom management, tube feeding, withdrawl of treatment, and other important subjects.

Oxford Textbook Of Palliative Medicine (Second Edition)
Edited by Derek Doyle, Geoffrey Hanke, and Neil MacDonald. The second edition of "the Bible of palliative care" is a comprehensive medical textbook and reference volume covering most practical aspects of hospice comfort care for the terminally ill. Covers quality of life assessment, pain and symptom management, pediatric issues, nutrition, psychiatric issues, special roles of members of the caregiving team such as nurses, occupational therapists, and social workers, plus many other topics. Now available in paperback. Published April, 1999.

The American Academy Of Hospice And Palliative Medicine
An international membership organization of physicians dedicated to the advancement of hospice and palliative medicine in the care of the terminally ill. Web site includes information on events and meetings, certification in hospice and palliative care, and a link list. Offers a series of "UNIPAC" self-training modules for physicians who care for terminally ill patients and their families. The UNIPACs offer practical information and suggested interventions related to clinical situations, pain and symptom management, nutrition, ethical issues in withdrawing life-sustaining treatment, and legal matters in terminal care. The UNIPACs are approved for 3 credit hours of CME each. You can search the Growth House database from this site. AAHPM is a member of the Inter-Institutional Collaborating Network On End Of Life Care (IICN) which links major palliative care organizations internationally.

By No Extraordinary Means: The Choice to Forgo Life-Sustaining Food and Water
Joanne Lynn M.D., Editor. Intended for a professional palliative care audience, this book examines the medical ethics associated with nutritional care of the terminally ill and the difficult questions surrounding withdrawing life-sustaining treatment. The New England Journal of Medicine describes it as "...thoughtfully written ...well-edited, cohesively integrated... valuable for physicians, nurses, nutritionists, attorneys, members of the clergy... and the general public." Published 1990.

Forgoing Life-Sustaining Therapy
By Margaret L. Campbell, RN, MSN, CS. Foreword by Joanne Lynn MD, MA, MS. Forgoing life-sustaining treatment can be one of the most difficult aspects of care for the dying. This concise and practical book is written for clinical care providers such as nurses and physicians. It gives sensible guidance on tough issues such as how to stop a ventilator, the use of artificial nutrition and hydration, forgoing dialysis, and management of delirium in the final days of life. Illuminating case examples draw out important clinical aspects of care while addressing ethical and legal considerations and the processes of communication and decision making. This authoritative medical resource dispels common myths about forgoing treatment, offers historical background on right-to-die cases, and provides definitions and discussions of ethical principles.

Nutritional Care Of The Terminally Ill
By Charlette R. Gallagher-Allred. A professional book for use by dieticians working in hospice and palliative care settings. Addresses needs, strategies, and ethics for feeding and palliative hydration. This is an update to the author's 1989 reference work on the same topic. Published January, 1997.

Nutritional Care Of The Terminally Ill
By Charlette R. Gallagher-Allred. A professional book for use by dieticians working in hospice and palliative care settings. Addresses needs, strategies, and ethics for feeding and palliative hydration. Published 1989.

Journal Of Palliative Medicine
This bimonthly interdisciplinary Journal reports on the clinical, educational, legal and ethical aspects of care for seriously ill and dying patients. It includes coverage of the latest developments in drug and non-drug treatments for patients with life-threatening diseases.

Dying Well
By Ira Byock, M.D. The author is a prominent spokesperson for the hospice movement and is president of the Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. This book shows that the immediacy of death can give rare opportunities for emotional and spiritual growth. While presenting a compassionate look at how people can increase their control over health care at the end of life, Byock shares his opinions on the euthanasia debate, assisted suicide, vegetative states, and feeding tubes. Related web site is dyingwell.org.

Unplugged: Reclaiming Our Right to Die in America
In 2005, the Terri Schiavo case galvanized millions to think about end-of-life decision making and question when life ends and how to define a good death. William Colby, the lawyer for Nancy Cruzan, whose 1988 case was one of the first major right-to-die cases, surveys the law and the issues as they are today.

painlaw.org
A uniquely valuable site on the net covering legal issues in pain management and end-of-life palliative care in the United States. The web site is produced by the Project On Palliative Care law of the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law. They are an authoritative source for assistance with legal issues pertaining to many aspects of end-of-life care ranging from pain to withdrawl of life-sustaining treatments. The center can also assist physicians who want to understand their legal obligations to provide relief from pain. This site includes an online education section which provides access to an extensive range of high-quality content through content-sharing arrangements facilitated by Growth House. You can search the IICN Public Library from this site.

Cochrane Pain, Palliative Care, and Supportive Care Collaborative Review Group (PaPaS)
The PaPaS group is one of 50 Cochrane Review Groups working world-wide to obtain the best evidence for effective healthcare treatments.

University Of Washington School Of Medicine: Ethics In Medicine
Clean site design plus great content make this site a "must see" for terminal care medical professionals. The site supports the Bioethics Education Project at the University Of Washington School Of Medicine. Authoritative content modules cover proper use of advance directives, do not resuscitate orders (DNRs), breaking bad news, complementary medicine, informed consent, legal issues, termination of life-sustaining treatment (including food and fluids), and much more. Bioethics tools are included, showing various concepts and methodologies for decisionmaking in medical settings. Realistic case analysis examples show how concepts translate into typical clinical settings. Offers a Bioethics Discussion Forum (user registration required for this feature). Provides links to other bioethics websites.

CancerNet
A wide range of credible, peer-reviewed cancer information from the National Cancer Institute. Includes material for the general public, health professionals, and basic research use. There is a section on "unconventional methods" with fact sheets on the most popular alternative treatments.

Nursing Care of Children and Adolescents With Cancer
Third Edition, 2002. Written by the Association of Paediatric Oncology Nurses (APON), the newly organized and expanded third edition of Nursing Care of Children and Adolescents with Cancer stands alone as the definitive work examining the foundations, treatments, and supportive care of children and adolescents with cancer. Most importantly, content specific to cancer in adolescents has been interspersed into this edition, highlighting the differences in child and adolescent cancer and treatment. This edition includes revised chapters, with 33 chapters discussing the child's stressors, and the roles and responsibilities of the nurse.

CancerNet
A wide range of credible, peer-reviewed cancer information from the National Cancer Institute. Includes material for the general public, health professionals, and basic research use. There is a section on "unconventional methods" with fact sheets on the most popular alternative treatments.

CancerNet
A wide range of credible, peer-reviewed cancer information from the National Cancer Institute. Includes material for the general public, health professionals, and basic research use. There is a section on "unconventional methods" with fact sheets on the most popular alternative treatments.

Healing Lessons
By Sidney Winawer and Nick Taylor. The moving true story of how a cancer specialist was forced to see medicine in a new light when his own wife was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Gives a realistic look at how cancer patients are faced with difficult choices, including use of complementary and alternative treatments. Published May, 1998.

Easing Cancer Pain Web Site
Easing Cancer Pain is an interactive CD-ROM and web site providing information on cancer pain relief to people with cancer and their families. This interactive program was designed to empower people with cancer who suffer from pain. It provides resources to help people with cancer understand their pain and seek effective treatment. The software highlights the personal stories of people who are being treated for cancer pain, assessment of pain and barriers to pain relief. It also offers detailed information on approaches to pain treatment. Both the CD ROM and web site are at a reading level that should be understandable by those with high school education. The fireside retreat metaphor and personal stories put a human face on the information offered. Requires a frame enabled browser.

The American Cancer Society
An authoritative source for cancer information. Public education features include interactive treatment decision tools to help you understand alternatives for many specific cancer decisions.

Project Inform
Provides information, inspiration, and advocacy for people living with HIV and AIDS. Long-respected within the HIV public policy community as a force for improved treatment options, Project Inform provides excellent quick overviews of major treatment issues via fact sheets on its web site. It does a good job of tracking new treatment options as well as complementary and alternative therapies. It's also a good source for information about patient rights, AIDS news, women and HIV, and the politics of HIV infection. Site is primarily in English but has some content in Spanish, including a Spanish-language version of it's searchable keyword index to content. Project Inform is a non-profit community-based organization.

AVERT - AIDS Education and Research Trust
This site, based in the UK, gives information and advice about HIV/AIDS and related issues, with many useful topics including sexuality, precautions, the epidemiology of AIDS, treatment, and an area for younger people. While covering the UK in detail, most of the site content is relevant to AIDS education anywhere. An exceptionally good treatment of how to handle sensitive sexual issues in classroom settings includes how to deal with homophobia which can get in the way of AIDS prevention efforts.

Roche-HIV.com
The pharmaceutical firm F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Ltd., offers this site as a public education tool to facilitate better understanding of the HIV virus and HIV and AIDS treatment issues, specifically resistance and adherence issues in HIV therapy. Website has information on the HIV lifecycle, viral load measurement, news and congresses related to HIV therapy, Roche product information, and links to related resources. The site is in English but offers some content bilingually in Spanish as well.

The Johns Hopkins AIDS Service
A well-organized collection of high-quality AIDS and HIV resources for physicians, other health professionals and the public by one of the world's leading AIDS research centers. Includes information on treatments, clinical trials, epidemiology, conferences, education, prevention, and other materials. Includes the full text of the 1999 edition of "Medical Management of HIV Infection" which represents the standard of care for the Johns Hopkins AIDS Service, and an abstracted version of the "Hopkins HIV Report," a bimonthly publication for practitioners who care for persons with HIV and AIDS.

AIDSmap
This site by NAM, a community-based organization in the UK. It provides extensive information about HIV treatments as well as other issues of interest to the HIV community. Includes a directory of HIV support organizations worldwide

Washington Post: Life and Death Battle Plays Out In Virginia
A September 9, 1998, story on the difficult choices that familes face when confronted with persistent vegetative state situations. The story details the ethical dilemma faced by the Finn family of Virginia, which became embroiled in a legal battle over removal of father Hugh Finn's feeding tube. The story makes a strong case for documenting preferences for end of life care through the use of advance directives.

When Death Is Sought: Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia in the Medical Context
This report by the New York State Department of Health covers legal and ethical issues in end of life care with specific attention to policy issues in that state. The report seeks to clarify important considerations for do-not resusitate orders (DNRs), withdrawl of life-sustaining treatment, advance treatment instructions, and related matters. Content includes statistics on the epidemiology of suicide and discussion of suicide among special patient populations. The report was authored by the Task Force On Life and the Law, a state group convened by Governor Mario Cuomo in 1984.

Les Turner ALS Foundation
The United States' largest independent publicly supported non-profit organization devoted to the treatment and elimination of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), better known as Lou Gehrig's disease. The Foundation supports the ALS community in Chicago and its suburbs and is affiliated with Northwestern University Medical School.

Macmillan Cancer Relief
Macmillan Cancer Relief is a UK charity supporting people with cancer and their families with specialist information, treatment and care. At the heart of the charity's work are over 2,000 Macmillan nurses working in posts in almost every local health authority in the UK, based in hospitals and the community. All Macmillan nurses are Registered Nurses with a minimum of five years experience, including at least two in cancer or palliative care.

The Mining Company Cancer Guide
A slick consumer-oriented design includes some paid advertising integrated in a way that some consumers may find annoying, but on the whole the editorial control over content is good. Offers a cancer chat room (requires Java) and a cancer bookstore. Original editorial content is complemented by annotated links to reliable Internet resources. The link collection is good, focusing on quality resources in many categories including general cancer sites, specific tumors, treatment facilities, childhood cancer, palliative care, clinical trials, and other patient-oriented topics.

Breathing Disorders Sourcebook
By Frances V. Adams, M.D. Explains types of breathing disorders including asthma, emphysema, and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD). Each disorder is discussed in terms of its causes, symptoms, and treatment. For consumers.

Tube Feeding Megasearch
This link performs an automated search for education materials related to tube feeding in the IICN Public Library, a repository of palliative care materials from several respected sources.

Success With Heart Failure
By Marc Silver, M.D. Revised and updated to reflect the most recent developments in congestive heart failure research and treatment, this book is a comprehensive and authoritative guide for patients and their families.

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