We started working together 10 years ago with the first Oncotalk grant. We have learned an immense amount from each other and in this collaboration we've done things none of us could have achieved alone. We hope the book contains some of the excitement and pleasure that we have experienced together.

We're grateful to our collaborators on Oncotalk, Walter Baile and Kelly Fryer-Edwards, who have sharpened our thinking, have contributed their deep expertise, and have been great company. We also want to thank the oncology fellows who came to Oncotalk and the actors (especially Jeannie Walla) who helped us teach.

The only way to write a book like this is to test our ideas as doctors. We have learned what works (and what does not) from our patients, and we are honored to be part of their lives.

Our work has been funded from the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Project on Death in America, Veterans Health Administration, Lance Armstrong Foundation, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.