A Monograph on Cancer Pain: Diagnosis and Treatment of Refractory Cancer Pain
Cancer pain plagues many cancer patients and many clinicians alike, especially refractory cancer pain. Some patients, due to tumor size, location, and internal environment, experience refractory cancer pain that causes great suffering and is hard to relieve despite every method of Chinese and Western medicine.
Diagnosis and Treatment of Refractory Cancer Pain is a work that gathers the collective wisdom of China's oncology elite. Its editorial board comes from the oncology departments and specialized cancer hospitals of dozens of Grade-A tertiary hospitals across the country, all with extensive clinical experience.
Refractory cancer pain is a major challenge for both oncology and pain medicine. In some patients the pain is complicated by mental disorders, and treatment must address multiple dimensions. Relieving cancer pain can markedly improve patients' quality of life and is highly meaningful for improving treatment outcomes.
The causes of cancer pain are complex. It relates to neural tissue, to direct compression of organs and structures by the tumor, and to the various chemical changes that occur as the tumor develops; therefore pain cannot be managed by analgesics alone. In fact, many patients, even after treatment according to the WHO three-step analgesic ladder, still cannot relieve unbearable pain. Thus the treatment of refractory cancer pain remains one of the world's unsolved medical problems.
This book explores the mechanisms of cancer pain from multiple angles and offers balanced treatment recommendations. It is a reference not only for Western oncology clinicians but also for Chinese medicine practitioners. By reading it, TCM physicians can see that painkillers alone cannot relieve refractory cancer pain and that some patients need comprehensive treatment before their pain can be controlled.
It must be frankly acknowledged that the medical community has not yet solved the pain problem ideally. Many patients, limited by economics and medical access, cannot receive specialized cancer-pain treatment at tertiary hospitals. This book can serve as a guide for these patients and their families as they seek care, helping them clarify their approach and make more targeted inquiries.
I therefore recommend this book to Chinese and Western clinicians engaged in cancer treatment and research, as well as to cancer patients and their families, so that all may deepen their understanding of cancer pain, use medication rationally, and find relief.