Opioid availability and cancer pain — an unnecessary tragedy

✍ Scribed by Jan Stjernswärd; David E. Joranson

• Book ID: 104743881
• Publisher: Springer-Verlag
• Year: 1995
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 176 KB
• Volume: 3
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0941-4355
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00368882

✦ Synopsis

Opioid availability and cancer painan unnecessary tragedy

Cancer pain is one of the feared and common symptoms in the millions of cancer patients who die every year, even though a relatively inexpensive, easily applicable method for pain control exists [7]. This method is a scientifically valid method and should make it possible to offer the great majority of cancer sufferers freedom from cancer pain. Drugs are the mainstay of cancer pain relief, the availability of oral morphine essential. However, nonavailability of adequate pain drugs is one of the major unnecessary [8] impediments to adequate cancer pain control. This editorial will address what can be done and how. So as to put science into practice in a rational way, WHO recommends that countries first initiate some specific measures, namely: a government policy, education of the health profession and drug availability. Such "foundation measures" cost very