癌症患者：也许没有接受足够的止痛治疗

疼痛是大多数普通癌症患者所遇到的症状，根据研究显示由于疾病和治疗等原因目前很多患者没有得到足够的治疗
对于癌症病人，疼痛会来自癌症本身，慢性的炎症以及感染。普通的癌症治疗，例如外科手术，化疗以及放射疗法同样会引起疼痛，除了这些原因，疼痛时常源于不恰当的管理所引起的患者的焦虑。研究者一直致力于确定患者未能得到最佳止痛疗法的主要原因。
2005年11月至2006年4月间，对106例接受放射疗法的病人进行了一项网络问卷调查以评估他们用药情况、疼痛的控制和对止痛药物的态度，包括处方药物，非处方药。58% 报告称疼痛来自于他们的癌症治疗；46% 患者报告疼痛直接来自于癌症；目前80% 的受调查患者称他们没有使用药物去控制疼痛。
大多数患者称他们没有服用止疼药物的主要原因是他们的医生没有向他们推荐药物治疗。这个原因主要是因为担心患者会沉溺或依赖药物以及没有足够能力支付药物费用。一些患者同样报告使用其他疗法来减轻疼痛包括物理治疗、按摩和针灸。
“排除为癌症病人使用最佳的疼痛控制的障碍，医生应该和他们的病人进行关于疼痛征兆和疼痛药物的谈话。”查尔斯.西蒙这项研究的负责人谈到：“我们将迈出这样一步，让这个评估系统变为一个电子医疗记录系统，这个系统将设计成为医生在面对每个患者时对患者疼痛等级和止痛药进行评估和建议。”
Cancer Patients: Many Receive Insufficient Pain Therapy
Pain is one of the most common symptoms of cancer patients, yet many of them do not receive adequate therapy for the pain caused by their disease or treatments, according to a study.
For cancer patients, pain can come from the cancer itself, chronic inflammatory changes or infections. Standard cancer treatments, such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy can also cause pain, but despite its common occurrence, pain is a frequent source of patient anxiety due to improper management. Researchers sought to determine the main reasons that patients fail to receive optimal pain therapy.
Between November 2005 and April 2006, 106 radiation therapy patients responded to an Internet-based questionnaire that evaluated their medication use, pain control and attitudes toward pain medication, including prescription and over-the-counter pain medications. Fifty-eight percent reported pain from their cancer treatment and 46 percent of patients reported pain directly from their cancer, yet 80 percent of those patients said that they did not use medication to manage their pain. Most patients said the main reason they did not take pain medication was because their healthcare provider did not recommend it. This reason was followed by a fear of addiction or dependence and the inability to pay. Some patients also reported using alternative therapies for pain relief, including physical therapy, massage and acupuncture. “To eliminate barriers to optimal pain management for cancer patients, healthcare providers should talk with their patients about pain symptoms and pain medications,” Charles Simone, lead author of the study, said. “We have taken these steps by transitioning to an electronic medical record system that has been designed to require an evaluation and documentation of patient pain levels and pain medication responses by healthcare providers at each patient encounter