Taking Action to Control Cancer

Pain

Rebecca Kirch
Associate Director, Policy

October 2008
Painkillers often hit the headlines …

Rising use of painkillers taking

deadly toll
Prescription drug deaths
overtake those from street drugs
Las Vegas Sun (NV)
Stories of suffering pain patients
often don’t
Many cancer patients forgo
painkillers
Mon Sep 29, 2008 1:06pm EDT
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)

Many Cancer Patients Receive Insufficient

Pain Management Therapy
ScienceDaily
09/09/2008
Pain Hurts Everyone

“The answer to that old

question, does cancer hurt?
That’s an easy one.
Yes.”
-- Leroy Sievers,
posted October 12, 2007
Cancer Pain: A Persisting Problem

Nearly all cancer pain CAN be relieved, but:

(1) Pain prevalence in cancer patients is consistently high:
• 64% advanced disease
• 59% active treatment, and
• 33% after treatment concludes
(2) One-third rate pain as moderate to severe, but fewer
than half receive adequate pain relief
(3) Pain burden is even greater in medically underserved
populations and treatment disparities exist
(4) Uncontrolled pain can devastate quality of life for
patients, survivors and their loved ones
National Cancer Information Center
Pilot Pain Project (2007)

Questions Findings:
(1) Experiencing • Pain reported in 50%
pain? of callers
(2) Discussed with • Some did not raise
doctor or pain with doctor
nurse? • Treatment
(3) If so, what did approaches varied
they do to help
you?
Pain Project Phase 2: Identify and
Quantify the Problem (2008)

• Just over half the callers were experiencing

pain, with nearly 60% rating it moderate or
severe

• An overwhelming majority said they told

their healthcare team and felt they were
heard

• But about two-thirds of those callers were

not getting adequate relief, rating their pain
as moderate or severe
Barriers to Pain Control

• Fear, misperceptions and

confusion about addiction,
dependence, and pain medicines
• Lack of knowledge and
reluctance among patients and
loved ones
• Insufficient training for
healthcare professionals
• Concerns that prescribing will
trigger investigation, disciplinary
action, or criminal prosecution
Pain & Policy Studies Group Report Card

ACS Nationwide Pain Control

Objective

By 2015:

• 50 states & DC get at least a B

• 10 of those states get an A

This year, 33 states received at

least a B and 5 of those
received an A
National Pain Care Policy Act
(S. 3387/HR 2994)

• Institute of Medicine
Pain Conference and
Report
• NIH Pain Research
Coordination
• Healthcare
Professional Education
& Training
• Public Awareness
Campaign
Helpful Pain Information at
www.cancer.org
ACS Commitment

“More needs to be done to effectively

address the national health crisis of
under-treated pain…
Patients, health organizations,
healthcare professionals, journalists,
regulatory officials, licensing boards,
and policymakers all have a role to
play to promote a balanced approach
to pain control policy and practice.”
John R. Seffrin, Ph.D., CEO,
American Cancer Society