A young man had uncontrollable pain from pancreatic cancer. He was about to die from malnutrition. I blocked the nerves that control pain to the upper abdomen, a celiac block, and he was able to gain weight, leave the hospital, and go back to work. She was getting so much morphine that she was almost in a stupor. After blocks of the nerves that control pain to the pelvis, she was able to dramatically reduce the amount of narcotics she was taking and resume being a mother to her children.
Many patients are under treated for cancer pain, which is unfortunate.
Some doctors are unwilling to give cancer patients enough pain killers and patients themselves are worried about drug addiction. The federal government has recognized this problem and is helping encourage better pain control. Narcotics given for severe pain do not cause addiction. These drugs may cause drug dependence, which is not a serious problem. Dependence means that the body cells need a constant amount of narcotic to prevent withdrawal.