title: Cancer-Related Pain Management and the Optimal Use of Opioids.
abstract: Pain relief is vital to the treatment of cancer. Despite the widespread use and recognition of clinical recommendations for the management of cancer-related pain, avoidable suffering is still prevalent in patients with malignant disease. A gap exists between what is known about pain medical management and actual practices of patients, caregivers, healthcare professionals and institutions. Opioids are the pillar of the medical management of moderate to severe pain. The prescription of opioid analgesics - by a registered medical practitioner for absolute pain control - is a legitimate practice. In this article we look at patients' fears and physicians' general hesitations towards morphine and alike. We examine misconceptions that yield fallacies on the therapeutically use of opioids and, therefore, sustain inadequate pain management.
authors.affiliation: Palliative Care Unit. Casa de Saúde da Idanha. Sintra. Portugal.
authors.forename: Paulo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Reis-Pina
authors.affiliation: BruyÃ¨re Research Institute. BruyÃ¨re Continuing Care. Ottawa. Ontario. Canada. Division of Palliative Care. Department of Medicine, Epidemiology and Community Medicine. University of Ottawa. Ottawa. Ontario. Canada. The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. Ottawa. Ontario. Canada. Faculdade de Medicina. Universidade de Lisboa. Lisbon. Portugal.
authors.forename: Peter G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Lawlor
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry. Hospital de Santa Maria. Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Central, EPE. Lisbon. Portugal. Bioethics and Palliative Care Centre. Faculdade de Medicina. Universidade de Lisboa. Lisbon. Portugal.
authors.forename: António
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barbosa
mesh_terms: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000072716:Cancer Pain / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D059408:Pain Management
chemical_list: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid