The specialty of palliative care has traditionally grown out of oncology and there has been little research into the needs of patients dying from causes other than cancer. Few non-cancer patients receive hospice in-patient, home care or day care although a good proportion of hospices say that their services are available to non-cancer patients. As a result, the importance of palliative care for non-cancer patients is now being increasingly recognized internationally, and in the UK a committee reporting to the Department of Health recommended that palliative care should be accessible to all patients who need such care. <em>Palliative Care of the Non-cancer Patient</em> considers the needs and experiences of patients dying from, for instance, stroke, heart disease or dementia by drawing on a range of disciplines and specialties in medicine. The provision of palliative care for patients dying from causes other than cancer raises a number of important questions for policy makers and purcha
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