The Complete Guide to Relieving Cancer Pain and Suffering [Hardcover]

Richard B. Patt M.D. (Author), Susan S. Lang (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 28, 2004 | ISBN-10: 0195135016 | ISBN-13: 978-0195135015 | Edition: Rev Exp

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. This book helps you be that informed patient.
Thoroughly revising 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. 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, while those in chronic pain not only suffer, but also jeopardize their recovery. They demonstrate methods that can be used to cope with the practical aspects of dealing with cancer suffering (like talking to your doctor and loved ones), and describe all of the pain-relieving options available in the modern medical arsenal--from drugs and high-tech medical procedures to psychological and cognitive techniques. The authors also discuss depression and other psychological components that can contribute to suffering, and explain how psychological, cognitive, and mind/body techniques can help relieve the suffering associated with cancer. The book includes detailed charts of all the pain medications presently available and it lists many available resources, from pain specialists to hospice and home care.
This volume will empower cancer patients 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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A well-written and comprehensive handbook for cancer patients and their caregivers. This will be an invaluable resource for people caring for patients with cancer and pain, particularly if they are being managed at home. The information is well set-out and clearly explained, and there is a glossary of medical terms included."--Roger Woodruff, Director of Palliative Care, Austin Health, Melbourne, Australia, International Association for Hospice and Pallative Care

"A much-needed resource for patients and caregivers on all aspects of cancer pain. The authors demonstrate methods that can be used to cope with the practical aspects of dealing with cancer suffering, describe all of the pain-relieving options available in the modern medical arsenal, discuss depression and other psychological components that can contribute to suffering, and explain how psychological, cognitive, and mind/body techniques can help relieve the suffering associated with cancer. This volume will help cancer patients 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."--Cornell University College of Human Ecology (online review)

"I cannot imagine a more complete treatment of the subject, written in truly accessible language, and with open discussion of contentious issues. The book is aimed at patients and carers, and I would also strongly recommend it to those who support and advise patients. 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. 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

About the Author

Richard B. Patt, M.D. spent two years directing the medical care of all inpatients at the world-renowned Hospice at the Texas Medical Center and is now President and Chief Medical Officer of the Patt Center for Cancer Pain and Wellness (www.cancerpain.org) in Houston. He served as the Deputy Chief of the Pain and Symptom Management Section of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and was the founder of the Cancer Pain Program at the University of Rochester School of Medicine. Susan S. Lang is a Senior Science Writer at Cornell University News Service and the author or co-author of eleven books, including Headache Help.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; Rev Exp edition (May 28, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195135016
• ISBN-13: 978-0195135015
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,862,476 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Publisher's Weekly review of previous edition, February 13, 2005

By 

Richard B. Patt, MD - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Complete Guide to Relieving Cancer Pain and Suffering (Hardcover)

From Publishers Weekly

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. It is estimated that relief can be achieved in 90 to 99 percent of cancer patients if the correct treatments are applied. 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. Lang and Patt examine the physiology of cancer pain and how not fighting it can get in the way of healing. Among the reasons the authors cite for why cancer patients are undermedicated for pain: doctors are not well-informed about pain medication and dosage, and fear that patients will become addicted to pain relievers; patients feel they must tough it out. The book also explores our culture's fear of narcotics, one of the cornerstones in the treatment of moderate to severe cancer pain. 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.

Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Every year one million Americans are diagnosed with cancer and must endure the pain that often accompanies it. Patt, one of the country's leading cancer pain experts, has teamed up with science writer Lang to produce a sensible, much-needed handbook for patients and caregivers on aspects of cancer pain. Undermedication is one of the primary problems; this stops many patients from resuming active lives and having the strength to fight their disease. The authors explore options--drugs, high-tech medical procedures, psychological techniques, and home nursing tips--to help relieve pain and give comfort. Fears of addiction are addressed, as is the "stiff upper lip" syndrome. Medications for accompanying health problems are also discussed. Recommended. See also Jane Cowles's Pain Relief!: How To Say "No" to Acute, Chronic, and Cancer Pain , LJ 11/1/93.--Ed.

- Janet M. Coggan, Univ. of Florida Libs., Gainesville

Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description:

On March 2, 1994, the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (a division of the Public Health Service) made headlines by releasing new cancer pain management guidelines. That report revealed that pain is frequently undertreated, and that relief is not only possible for most patients, but actually aids in recovery. For many cancer victims, the agency's guidelines offered new hope; for Dr. Richard B. Patt and coauthor Susan S. Lang, it was a resounding vindication of the findings they set forth in You Don't Have to Suffer.

Written by one of the country's leading cancer pain experts and science writer Lang, You Don't Have to Suffer provides an invaluable, no-nonsense handbook for anyone with cancer, for anyone caring for a loved one with cancer, and for the doctors and nurses who treat these patients. The authors first illuminate the reasons why patients are so often undermedicated, including unfounded fears of addiction, patients thinking they need to tough it out, time-consuming paperwork for doctors who prescribe narcotics, and laws that fail to distinguish between drug abuse and the legitimate employment of narcotics. In a careful argument now taken up by the AHCPR's guidelines, Lang and Patt demonstrate that properly medicated patients are better able to resume active lives and marshall strength to fight their disease--while those in chronic pain not only suffer, but also may jeopardize their potential for recovery.

You Don't Have to Suffer explores all the pain-relieving options available in the modern medical arsenal--from drugs and high-tech medical procedures to psychological and cognitive techniques and home nursing tips to make a patient more comfortable. Detailed chapters discuss the medications that can fight cancer pain or relieve the undesirable side effects of chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, and other cancer treatments; anaesthetic and neurosurgical options for pain that has not responded well to simpler techniques; ways to prevent or relieve constipation, nausea, drowsiness, and other complaints of cancer patients; and mind/body techniques and other ways of coping with depression and various psychological symptoms that contribute to the relief of suffering.

Pulling together a wealth of long-needed information on the latest medical advances, You Don't Have To Suffer is a volume for the growing numbers of patients, family members, and health-care professionals who are determined to relieve needless cancer pain.

5.0 out of 5 stars Complete Guide for Relieving Cancer Pain by Patt et al., August 13, 2005

By 

Joseph S. Maresca "Dr. Joseph S. Maresca CPA,... (Bronxville, New York USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Complete Guide to Relieving Cancer Pain and Suffering (Hardcover)

The author cites classic reasons why chronic pain may be undertreated by medical providers. These reasons include:

- inadequate training of medical staff

- concerns and unfounded fears about addiction

- some providers believe that pain should be severe before a

treatment option is selected

The author distinguishes between physical dependence and addiction. Physical dependence may precipitate a feeling of illness once the drug is stopped. Addiction refers to a psychological longing or dependence on the drug.

Patients have a right to report pain and expect that medical

providers will believe the critical incidences reported by the

patients. Treatment is a right which flows from the medical

provider's understanding of the medical history and appreciation for the pain sensations reported.

Classic cancer warnings are increased bladder or bowel movements,

chronic swallowing problems, unexplained lethargy, persistent

infections, unhealed sores, shortness of breath or hoarseness.

A pain inventory may consist of the following:

- diagram of the pain

- description of the worst incidences

- interference with activity

- sleep interference

- decreased energy

Most health care treatments are geared toward curative therapies.

The World Health Organization has stated that " In short,

the right drug at the right dose given at the right time relieves

80% to 90% of pain." WHO: Cancer Pain and Palliative Care-

A Technical Report Series 804 of WHO 1990 and 1996 Revised

This work discusses classic pain modalities; such as, TENS and

drug choices for chronic pain. It is a solid value for the price

charged.