"This book was written to educate individuals diagnosed with a serious medical condition along with their loved ones about the importance of palliative care. The work outlines what palliative care is, provides communication strategies for getting the type of support and care that you want and need (and not just medications), outlines successful coping strategies, and discusses family dynamics, grieving, emotional support, and spirituality. Although palliative care is often associated with hospice and end-of-life planning, the author argues for a more expanded definition that includes improved quality of life at early as well as later stages of the disease process"--