http://thinkafricapress.com/health/easing-africas-pain-need-palliative-care

A commentary from ASCO IDEA award Dr Rakesh Roy, of Kolkata who spent time at the UW Carbone Cancer Center after ASCO 2012

In an opinion piece published in the Milwaukee Sentinel Journal, he powerfully states a firm case for the use of opioids in the treatment of pain from his position as President-elect of the American Academy of Pain Management.

To quote from the piece:

The anti-opioid climate already has resulted in the denial of medication to suffering patients. In many cases, doctors acknowledge a reluctance to prescribe opioids, even when they know a patient is in intense pain, simply because they do not want to be perceived as irresponsible or risk sanctions. And patients sometimes forgo asking for help because they do not wish to be perceived as a drug abuser or because they have come to accept a prevailing view that looks dimly on anyone with a vial of “narcotics” in the medicine cabinet.

I urge you to read his opinion and to share it widely.

Well done, Dr Webster!

(and thank you MSJ for publishing the piece, thanks reflected in the comments).