With the publication of Volume 10, Number 3 of our journal, Palliative & Supportive Care, we are approaching several important milestones that are noteworthy. I am pleased to say that with our next issue, we will have successfully concluded the tenth year of publication of the journal, whose acceptance in the scientific and academic community is now well established. We had an idealistic mission of providing an intellectual and journalistic home for that small, but growing, band of academicians around the world who were focusing their work in palliative care, with particular emphasis on the psychiatric, psychosocial, existential, and spiritual aspects of care. We have done more than survive, we have thrived! Even in an environment where there are now close to 25 journals dedicated to palliative care and related topics, Palliative & Supportive Care has stood out as an international scientific palliative care journal that has managed to maintain a “literary heart and soul.” Our success is due, in no small part, to the contributions of hundreds of researchers and clinicians from all around the world who have so graciously and generously shared their work with us for publication. Palliative & Supportive Care is truly an international journal, with authors from more than 25 countries submitting over 800 manuscripts for publication to the journal these past ten years. Our thanks also to our wonderful Editorial Board and dedicated reviewers. I know that I speak on behalf of my international coeditors, Drs. Chochinov and Wein, when I say that these ten years have been extraordinarily challenging, exciting, and extremely rewarding. However, none of it would be possible without the dedication of our Managing Editor, Theresa Carpenter (and her predecessor Donna Cassetta), and the support of the staff at Cambridge University Press, which publishes our journal.
In this past decade, Palliative & Supportive Care has been published quarterly (4 issues a year), and I am proud to announce that, starting with Volume 11 we will be expanding to 6 issues a year. This is a reflection of the large and growing number of quality research manuscripts and review papers that we receive annually. In addition, “Special Issues” will appear with more regularity. We hope our readers enjoyed our special issue on “Vulnerability and Palliative Care” which appeared in Volume 10 number 1, and I am excited about our forthcoming special issue on “Cultural Issue in Palliative Care” that will appear in Volume 11, number 1.
Perhaps our most exciting piece of news, as this first decade of Palliative & Supportive Care comes to completion, is the fact that we have now officially moved completely to an electronic online system of manuscript submission and review. We have been using this online system for several months now and have worked out all the bugs. I urge our authors to utilize the online submission system, which can be reached through the Palliative & Supportive Care homepage on the Cambridge Journals Online website, or directly through the following link: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/pax.
Finally, a last word of appreciation and thanks to all who support our journal. Together we have created and nurtured something of value. What we have created is still young, vulnerable and transforming. The future is unknown, but today we look forward with hope and faith in ourselves and in each other.
