The nature of suffering and the goals of medicine /

The wedding of science and technology with medicine has yielded significant advances in the treatment of disease but little understanding of patient suffering. In this volume, Cassell (public health, Cornell University Medical College) explores the nature of suffering and its alleviation. Beginning with a discourse on the role of theory in medicine, the author proceeds to describe the meaning of suffering to the patient in relation to medical work and ends with a discussion of the necessary changes in medicine to advance the relief of suffering. Although many authors have affirmed the need for medicine to be more humanistic, Cassell provides a distinct conceptualization of suffering that integrates the science and art of medicine in clinical practice. His reflective examination of what it means to take care of a sick person bestows to medicine a direction and a challenge to transform. This book is easy to understand and contains references. Recommended for all academic audiences interested in illness and the care of the sick.-J. D. Campbell, University of Missouri Columbia