ABSTRACT
The rapid and devastating consequences of cerebral gliomas on physical, psychological, and social well-being often leave clinicians who possess a strong curative approach with the feeling that they have little positive to offer in what is an increasingly difficult situation. This chapter discusses how a rehabilitative approach, understood in the widest sense as helping patients and their families adapt to change, might make the situation easier for all to manage. The chapter reviews survival following different treatments, and looks at current debates and guidelines for management. It also considers psychological aspects of diagnosis and treatment, the adaptation that patients and their families undergo, and changes in family roles that can occur. We suggest how to initiate in some modest way changes that address and attempt to maintain quality of life and discuss the need to develop new models of care and rehabilitation models for these patients.
