About one-third of the cancer patients in the U.S. suffer from significant pain. Pain can affect a patient in many ways. It can cause a reduction in activity, prevent sleep, and inhibit eating. Pain can also make a patient feel afraid and depressed.

Today, a new resource was made available to help cancer patients work more effectively with their doctors to make informed decisions about their available pain treatment options. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) and the American Cancer Society (ACS) announced the availability of their first supportive care patient guideline, Cancer Pain Treatment Guidelines for Patients.

"Patients have a right to appropriate pain assessment and management. This information will facilitate the process of informed decision-making by patients in collaboration with physicians and help assure that patients achieve the best possible pain relief," said Dr. Richard Payne, chief, pain & palliative care service, department of neurology, at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York. MSKCC is one of 19 NCCN member institutions. "Often this pain can be substantially reduced or eliminated and patients can be made more comfortable during their battles with cancer," he added.

Misperceptions about the likelihood of drug addiction and abuse among cancer patients have resulted in avoidance of appropriate pain control by some patients. "Reactions to recent disturbing media coverage of drug addicts and painkiller abuse may ironically interfere with important efforts to appropriately manage cancer patients’ pain," said Robert C. Young, MD, president-elect of the American Cancer Society and president of Fox Chase Cancer Center, another NCCN member institution. "In fact, when pain medicines are given and taken appropriately, patients rarely become addicted to them.

"Undertreatment of pain is a significant public health problem in our country, but the NCCN/ACS patient pain guidelines will give cancer patients and their families solid understanding and reasonable expectations to make them informed collaborators with their physicians in managing pain and preserving a good quality of life," added Dr. Young.

The patient guidelines are the result of a collaborative effort between NCCN and ACS and are derived directly from the professional oncology practice guidelines developed for physicians by the NCCN. The patient guidelines also provide background information on cancer pain, its causes, various treatment options and a glossary of terms.

"The NCCN/ACS Cancer Pain Treatment Guidelines for Patients is one of a series developed by the NCCN/ACS partnership. At this time, the NCCN/ACS patient guideline series includes breast cancer, prostate cancer and colon and rectal cancers. We provide these guidelines in plain, understandable language for patients and their families," said William T. McGivney, PhD, CEO of the NCCN. "We intend to develop patient guidelines for the ten most frequently occurring cancers and the major supportive care areas." Upcoming patient guidelines include lung cancer, ovarian cancer, myeloma, non-melanoma skin cancer, nausea and vomiting, and cancer-related fatigue. The publications are also being translated into Spanish.

To order a free copy of NCCN/ACS Cancer Pain Treatment Guidelines for Patients or any of the other NCCN patient guidelines, contact The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (1-888-909-NCCN) or The American Cancer Society (1-800-ACS-2345). You may also visit their web sites at www.nccn.org or www.cancer.org. Requests by e-mail may be made to patientinformation@nccn.org.

Founded in 1995, the NCCN is dedicated to advancing the missions of its member institutions in education, research and patient care. As part of its mission, the NCCN serves as the most authoritative source of cancer care information for health professionals based upon the expertise and input of its world-renowned clinicians.

For more than 85 years, the public has relied on the American Cancer Society for accurate, up-to-date information about cancer and its treatment. The American Cancer Society is the nationwide, community based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives and diminishing suffering from cancer through research, education, advocacy and service.

NCCN Member Institutions:

City of Hope Cancer Center, Los Angeles, CA
 Press information contact: Taylor Mayo Phone: 800-888-5323

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA
 Press information contact: Janet Haley Phone: 617-632-5665

Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center, Durham, NC
 Press information contact: Joanna Downer Phone: 919-684-4148

Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA
 Press information contact: Karen Carter Phone: 215-728-2700

Johns Hopkins Oncology Center, Baltimore, MD
 Press information contact: Vanessa Wasta Phone: 410-955-1287

Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah Press information contact: Shelley Thomas Phone: 801-587-7740

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA Press information contact: Susan Edmonds Phone: 206-667-2896

Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute at the Ohio State University, Columbus, OH Press information contact: Pegge Ledingham Phone: 614-293-6439

Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, Chicago, IL Press information contact: Elizabeth Crown Phone: 312-503-8928

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York Press information contact: Esther Carver Phone: 212-639-3573

H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute at the University of South Florida, Tampa, FL Press information contact: Matt Novak Phone: 813-632-1478

Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY Press information contact: Deborah Pettibone Phone: 716-845-8593

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN Press information contact: Deirdre Malone Phone: 901-495-2434

Stanford Hospital and Clinics, Stanford, CA Press information contact: Ruthann Richter Phone: 650-723-7722

UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center, San Francisco, CA Press information contact: Alice Trinkl Phone: 415-476-2557

University of Alabama at Birmingham Comprehensive Cancer Center, Birmingham, AL Press information contact: Kathleen Roth Phone: 205-934-0283

University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ann Arbor, MI Press information contact: Maria White Phone: 734-936-9584

UNMC/Eppley Cancer Center at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE Press information contact: Sheri Dunbar Phone: 402-559-4401

University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX Press information contact: Jane Brust Phone: 713-792-0655

Joann Schellenbach
National Director Media Relations
American Cancer Society
212-382-2169
jschelle@cancer.org