Patients have the right to be as comfortable as possible at all times. There are many false beliefs about pain relief that can lead to pain being treated improperly. In studies involving tens of thousands of cancer patients, fewer than one percent exhibit signs of addiction. Myth Use of opioid drugs slows breathing to a dangerous level. Fact Respiratory depression is rarely problematic, and can be quickly reversed if necessary.
Myth Giving into pain and treating it is a sign of weakness.
Fact Treating pain is a crucial part of successfully treating disease. Unrelieved pain can inhibit mobility, disturb sleep, slow healing and dangerously stress the body s systems. Myth Pain medications make you too sleepy to conduct normal work and home activities. Fact Correctly administered, patients on many regimens are alert and feel able to maintain normal daily routines. Each patient has a responsibility to tell her doctor or nurse that she has pain, how bad it is, and what seems to make it better or worse.