World cancer forum pushes for access to pain relief
Wang Yuanyuan, Yang Anni
| Medical experts from India, Malaysia and other countries at an exhibition of the World Cancer Congress yesterday. Sun Yuchen |
A PROGRAM to promote global access to pain relief was launched yesterday at a forum of the World Cancer Congress in Shenzhen.
Medical specialists attending the forum called for universal access to controlled pain medication for cancer patients worldwide to ease the suffering of the millions of cancer sufferers around the world who were forced to go without adequate pain treatment.
If the Global Access to Pain Relief Initiative (GAPRI) was achieved, it would help reverse the cancer epidemic by 2020, Dr. Eduardo Cazap, incoming president of the International Union Against Cancer (UICC), said.
“Irrespective of where they live, all cancer patients deserve access to effective pain medication. The program is extremely important to help tackle what we feel is a basic human right,” UICC president Professor David Hill said.
The pain of cancer could be safely and effectively treated with the use of opiate analgesics, such as morphine. However, according to the WHO, an estimated 5 billion people lived in countries with limited or no access to controlled medicines, said Doug Ulman of Livestrong Organization, a global nonprofit group for cancer patients. “In some countries, even the most basic treatment for moderate to severe pain is still extremely limited. Inequality in access to pain medication for cancer patients must be addressed,” he said.
“Millions of cancer patients suffer from pain. This not only affects their daily lives but also shortens their life expectancy. We know how to help them, but just a limited amount of medicines can get to them, which is very unfair to these patients,” he said.
More than 150 leaders in the medical, government and corporate sectors attended the forum, which was held in China for the first time.
Source： Shenzhen Daily Editor： 洪志科