Up to 50 percent of people suffer moderate to severe pain in their last days, studies say All too often Americans die slowly, suffering pain or struggling to breathe, according to experts who addressed the S.C. Medical Association meeting in Charleston on Saturday. When asked what they most fear about dying, Americans list pain followed by dying alone, abandoned or in an institution, according to surveys. Most patients want to die at home, but 65 to 70 percent die in acute-care hospitals or nursing homes. That robs people of opportunities during what he describes as a valuable and precious time of life. The end of life offers potentially great personal and spiritual growth, peacefulness and acceptance of death as part of the living process, said Kurent.
Pain compromises all of that.
Up to 50 percent of people suffer moderate to severe pain in their last days, Kurent said, quoting studies. About 25 percent receive no pain medicine at all, Byock said. It's like a Third World country. The biggest problem with pain management is it simply is not done. Byock and Kurent shared their ideas during separate interviews before their Saturday presentations.