Palliative Pain Relief Woefully Inadequate Worldwide

Palliative care is medical care focused on providing relief from the symptoms of a serious illness. The goal of such care is to improve quality of life for both the patient and the family as palliation can relieve patients from the pain of terminal disease, such as cancer. In 2015, there were roughly 25.5 million people who died without having access to pain control. Another 35.5 million people who survived their illness did not have access to palliative care. Can one imagine living through advanced stages of cancer without having pain control? This article addresses a real life example of how a patient ended his own life because of the pain. The majority of these people lived in developing regions that still do not have access to effective medical treatments. It is important to address this global issue and for people facing a cancer diagnosis, provide access to critical radiation therapy for both curative and palliative intent. Read the article…