Pain and Its Management in Malignant Disease

The need to investigate pain experiences in a “real” setting has often been emphasized. An investigation has been carried out, using a principal component analysis, to delineate staff-patient interactions relating to the treatment of pain in patients with malignant disease in a radiotherapy ward. There are three meaningful patterns that have emerged: (1) a tendency for the staff to withhold powerful analgesics from patients who regard themselves as “ill”; (2) correlation of high Cornell Medical Index scores, female sex, and the distribution of powerful analgesics; and (3) an association between greater age and the withholding of powerful analgesics. These findings emphasize the importance of considering the experience of pain as part of an interpersonal process.