Almost two decades after a landmark 1994 study on cancer pain management changed the government's treatment guidelines, a new study reveals that things have improved, but not by much.
According to a study written by researchers from MD Anderson Cancer Center and published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, about one-third of cancer patients report that their cancer pain either went untreated or under-treated.
Additionally, the study found that blacks and Hispanics were twice as likely as Caucasians not to receive pain medication.
The recent study enrolled over 3,000 patients with invasive breast, prostate, colon or lung cancer and at risk for pain across multiple institutions in the US. Patients were both in active treatment as well as cancer survivors who saw their doctors for follow-up appointments. Perhaps most tellingly, most were being treated by oncologists, not pain specialists.
The landmark study from 1994 found that 42 percent of cancer patients reported their cancer pain was either not being treated or not being treated adequately.
The difference represents an improvement, but not by much, according to the author of the original study, Dr. Charles Cleeland, who called the latest study results "disappointing."
Source: Houston Chronicle
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