Patients with Advanced Cancer: the Access to Opioids and other Pain Control Medication

Abstract

Introduction: Pain is the worst and most frequent symptom of cancer patients causing suffering and inabilities. Objective: To describe how family relatives of patients with advanced cancer perceive the difficulties of accessing opioids and other pain medication. Method: This research adopts a Qualitative “Approach”. Fourteen informal caretakers, family members of people diagnosed with advanced cancer, were interviewed through semi structured interviews. Results: All participants reported that they bought pain medication, including opioids and other drugs for cancer symptoms, for their relatives with advanced cancer, which had some impact on the family income. The relief of extreme suffering related to health must be a priority. It must be an ethical imperative that cuts across the assistance to patients with advanced cancer and other life threatening diseases. Conclusion: Public Health Programs for patients with advanced cancer must be enhanced in order to prioritize the easy access to opioids and other pain control drugs. Nonetheless, the guarantee of access must be held at medical discretion, with the accurate evaluation and prescription of pain control methods, considering the available resources. Only then it will be possible to ease suffering, ensuring equity and promoting human dignity for the ones who experience pain.