One in three cancer patients in so much pain they want to die

NEW research, which reveals a third of cancer patients suffer so much pain they just want to die, highlights the need for a more proactive assessment of sufferers’ discomfort, a leading consultant in palliative medicine has said.

The European Pain in Cancer (EPIC) survey also found that two out of three Irish people with cancer are in pain, despite the availability of medicines which can control their suffering.

Many said they were having to supplement the medicine with massage and alternative remedies in order to quell the pain.

One in three patients described their pain as intolerable and the majority said their cancer pain resulted in difficulty performing everyday activities.

Of those surveyed, 42% felt their pain had affected their family relationships. This difficulty in maintaining normal relationships could be linked to the fact that two thirds of patients felt that people didn’t understand how much pain they are in, the EPIC survey suggested.

More than half of patients also found that sufferers would pay ‘any amount of money for a pain treatment if they knew it would work’.

The EPIC survey involved 4,000 cancer patients from 12 countries across Europe, including Ireland, who were not being treated in hospices or specialist pain clinics.

EPIC said the survey showed not only that pain can significantly reduce quality of life among cancer sufferers, but that this pain is often inadequately treated even though the cancer itself was well controlled.

Dr Tony O’Brien, consultant in palliative medicine at Cork University Hospital said: “The design of the project did not include patients in the care of hospices or specialist pain clinics, but this is the first survey of its kind and gives us an important insight into the impact of cancer pain on patients and their families.

“The survey highlights for us the importance of proactively assessing a patient’s pain in order to manage it successfully and help them achieve a better quality of life.”