You Don't Have to Suffer : A Complete Guide to Relieving Cancer Pain for Patients and Their Families

On March 2, 1994, the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (a division of the Public Health Service) made headlines by releasing new cancer pain management guidelines. That report revealed that pain is frequently undertreated, and that relief is not only possible for most patients, but actually aids in recovery. For many cancer victims, the agency's guidelines offered new hope; for Dr. Richard B. Patt and coauthor Susan S. Lang, it was a resounding vindication of the findings they set forth in You Don't Have to Suffer. Written by one of the country's leading cancer pain experts and science writer Lang, You Don't Have to Suffer provides an invaluable, no-nonsense handbook for anyone with cancer, for anyone caring for a loved one with cancer, and for the doctors and nurses who treat these patients. The authors first illuminate the reasons why patients are so often undermedicated, including unfounded fears of addiction, patients thinking they need to tough it out, time-consuming paperwork for doctors who prescribe narcotics, and laws that fail to distinguish between drug abuse and the legitimate employment of narcotics. In a careful argument now taken up by the AHCPR's guidelines, Lang and Patt demonstrate that properly medicated patients are better able to resume active lives and marshall strength to fight their disease--while those in chronic pain not only suffer, but also may jeopardize their potential for recovery. You Don't Have to Suffer explores all the pain-relieving options available in the modern medical arsenal--from drugs and high-tech medical procedures to psychological and cognitive techniques and home nursing tips to make a patient more comfortable. Detailed chapters discuss the medications that can fight cancer pain or relieve the undesirable side effects of chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, and other cancer treatments; anaesthetic and neurosurgical options for pain that has not responded well to simpler techniques; ways to prevent or relieve constipation, nausea, drowsiness, and other complaints of cancer patients; and mind/body techniques and other ways of coping with depression and various psychological symptoms that contribute to the relief of suffering. Pulling together a wealth of long-needed information on the latest medical advances, You Don't Have To Suffer is a volume for the growing numbers of patients, family members, and health-care professionals who are determined to relieve needless cancer pain.

On March 2, 1994, the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (a division of the Public Health Service) made headlines by releasing new cancer pain management guidelines. That report revealed that pain is frequently undertreated, and that relief is not only possible for most patients, but actually aids in recovery. For many cancer victims, the agency's guidelines offered new hope; for Dr. Richard B. Patt and coauthor Susan S. Lang, it was a resounding vindication of the findings they set forth in You Don't Have to Suffer.
Written by one of the country's leading cancer pain experts and science writer Lang, You Don't Have to Suffer provides an invaluable, no-nonsense handbook for anyone with cancer, for anyone caring for a loved one with cancer, and for the doctors and nurses who treat these patients. The authors first illuminate the reasons why patients are so often undermedicated, including unfounded fears of addiction, patients thinking they need to tough it out, time-consuming paperwork for doctors who prescribe narcotics, and laws that fail to distinguish between drug abuse and the legitimate employment of narcotics. In a careful argument now taken up by the AHCPR's guidelines, Lang and Patt demonstrate that properly medicated patients are better able to resume active lives and marshall strength to fight their disease—while those in chronic pain not only suffer, but also may jeopardize their potential for recovery.
You Don't Have to Suffer explores all the pain-relieving options available in the modern medical arsenal—from drugs and high-tech medical procedures to psychological and cognitive techniques and home nursing tips to make a patient more comfortable. Detailed chapters discuss the medications that can fight cancer pain or relieve the undesirable side effects of chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, and other cancer treatments; anesthetic and neurosurgical options for pain that has not responded well to simpler techniques; ways to prevent or relieve constipation, nausea, drowsiness, and other complaints of cancer patients; and mind/body techniques and other ways of coping with depression and various psychological symptoms that contribute to the relief of suffering.
Pulling together a wealth of long-needed information on the latest medical advances, You Don't Have To Suffer is a volume for the growing numbers of patients, family members, and health-care professionals who are determined to relieve needless cancer pain.

Assessing pain/understanding mild pain relievers/dealing w/constipation, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting

Contents......Page 14 Part I: Cancer and Its Pain......Page 18 1. Cancer Pain Undermines Cancer Treatment......Page 20 2. Understanding Cancer and Pain......Page 40 3. Assessing Pain and Planning Strategies......Page 60 4. On Being an Active Health-Care Consumer......Page 92 Part II: The Painkillers......Page 104 5. Understanding Mild Pain Relievers......Page 106 6. Understanding the Weak Opioids......Page 122 7. Understanding the Strong Opioids......Page 128 8. Understanding How Adjuvant Drugs Relieve Pain and Suffering......Page 152 9. "High-Tech" Options......Page 180 Part III: Other Approaches and Concerns......Page 192 10. Dealing with Constipation, Diarrhea, Nausea, and Vomiting......Page 194 11. Dealing with Other Side Effects and Discomforts......Page 208 12. Mind-Body Approaches to Easing Pain......Page 234 13. Special Cases: Children, the Elderly, and Patients with Special Needs......Page 260 14. Dealing with Feelings......Page 274 15. If Death Approaches......Page 300 NOTES......Page 322 APPENDIX: Where To Find More Information......Page 324 More Information on Medications......Page 336 B......Page 352 D......Page 353 E......Page 354 M......Page 355 P......Page 356 S......Page 358 T......Page 359 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY......Page 362 A......Page 368 B......Page 369 C......Page 370 D......Page 371 F......Page 372 I......Page 373 M......Page 374 N......Page 375 P......Page 376 R......Page 378 S......Page 379 V......Page 380 Z......Page 381 Every day a tragedy is played out in hospitals and homes across America - the tragedy of needless cancer pain. Too often, cancer patients are caught in the middle between society's strong anti-drug message and modern medical techniques that can bring relief from pain to an extraordinary ninety to ninety-nine percent of cancer patients. Although cancer pain experts assert that pain relief is important, not only because it is humane but also because it is beneficial for This book teaches families everything they need to know about cancer pain and its treatments. Viewing pain as a whole body phenomenon that comprises physical and psychological well-being, it includes the latest medical treatments and medications Starting with a review on why cancer pain is still an everyday tragedy when modern medical techniques can relieve it in almost every case, this book teaches families everything they need to know about cancer pain and its treatments.