Most cancer patients fear unremitting pain more than the prospect of an untimely death, and are surprised to learn that most of the pain and related symptoms of cancer can be successfully addressed by an informed patient working with a determined health care team.
Thoroughly updating their widely praised 1994 book, You Don't Have to Suffer, Dr. Richard B. Patt and Susan Lang offer a much-needed handbook for patients and caregivers on all aspects of cancer pain and suffering. The authors identify the reasons why patients are so often under-medicated--from patients who feel the need to tough it out to doctors buried in time-consuming paperwork--and argue that properly medicated patients are better able to resume active lives and marshal strength to fight their disease. Those in chronic pain not only suffer, but also jeopardize their recovery. They demonstrate methods that can be used to cope with pain, nausea, constipation, fatigue, and other symptoms related to cancer and cancer treatment, and describe all of the pain-relieving options available in the modern medical arsenal. This includes drugs and high-tech medical procedures, as well as psychological, cognitive, and mind/body techniques. The authors also discuss depression and other
psychological components that can contribute to suffering, as well as end-of-life issues. The book includes detailed charts of all the pain medications presently available and lists many available resources, from pain specialists to hospice and home care.
This book will empower cancer patients and their families to make informed decisions about their care and will be of enormous value to the growing number of patients, family members, and health-care professionals determined to relieve needless suffering.
Industry Reviews
"I cannot imagine a more complete treatment of the subject, written in truly accessible language, and with open discussion of contentious issues.... If one could be reassured that each clinician on the cancer pathway has taken in the core messages put forward by the authors, the daunting prospect of pain at the end of life, one of every patient's greatest fears, would be somewhat lessened.... Will create informed patients and carers who can debate relevant pain
control with their physicians.... It is in the first two parts of the volume that the greatest value will lie. The drugs used in treating cancer pain are detailed in described in plain language;
individual drugs, together with their trade names, are described in careful, patient-friendly detail, along with information on dosage, schedules and formulations.... This is a book that every informed patient and carer should know about, and which should be on the library shelves of every cancer support group."--R. Wilson, Annals of Oncology
"Cancer patients and their caregivers will find a wealth of information in this thoroughly revised edition of the authors' You Don't Have to Suffer. Patt and science writer Lang cover every aspect of cancer pain management, from pain undermanagement and the quality-of-life benefits of properly managed pain to types and causes of cancer pain, pain assessment, and medications.... Hints on choosing a physician and being an assertive consumer, as well as
examples of documents (e.g. living wills) and extensive appendixes, empower patients and caregivers. As the authors point out, it is estimated that some 40 percent of cancer patients receive inadequate pain
relief, so this book has a potentially large audience. Highly recommended."--Library Journal
"For the millions of Americans who will be diagnosed with cancer, Lang, a Cornell University science writer, and Patt, the deputy chief of the Pain Service at Houston's M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, have written a handbook for those seeking respite from cancer pain. This book, clearly written for the consumer, is intended for anyone who has cancer or is caring for a loved one with the disease, as well as for the professionals who treat patients and their
families. By exploring all of the pain-relieving options available--from over-the-counter drugs and high-tech medical techniques to home nursing tips to make patients more comfortable--it enables cancer
patients to make informed decisions about their care and offers them a way to improve the quality of their lives."--Publishers Weekly
"Cancer patients and their caregivers will find a wealth of information in this thoroughly revised edition of the authors' You Don't Have to Suffer. Patt and science writer Lang cover every aspect of cancer pain management, from pain undermanagement and the quality-of-life benefits of properly managed pain to types and causes of cancer pain, pain assessment, and medications.... Hints on choosing a physician and being an assertive consumer, as well as
examples of documents (e.g. living wills) and extensive appendixes, empower patients and caregivers. As the authors point out, it is estimated that some 40 percent of cancer patients receive inadequate pain
relief, so this book has a potentially large audience. Highly recommended."--Library Journal
"There is no other patient-oriented reference currently available which compares in depth or quality of information to this excellent text."--Clinical Journal of Pain
"Reassuring and honest...a "must have" for all health care providers. Should be required reading for students in the health professions and used as an authoritative resource to educate professionals in a way that will enable them to empower patients and families to control this very out-of-control experience. Overall, this is a superb book."--Oncology Times
"This book is recommended for the audience intended. The authors have done a fine job."--Care Management Journals
