Millions of Canadians suffer from chronic pain. Surveys indicate over 18% of Canadians suffer from severe chronic pain. At any given moment, half of all Canadians will have experienced some kind of pain. A majority of Canadians experience head pain at least monthly.

People suffering from chronic pain do not receive adequate treatment. While over 70% of cancer patients experience moderate to severe pain during their illness, fewer than half receive adequate pain relief. A study at one large medical centre found that the majority of patients who were in moderate to severe pain were not even asked by their Doctors or nurses if they were having pain.

Pain is devastating to individuals and families. When pain persists at these levels, a person’s entire life becomes impacted. It becomes difficult to concentrate, to remember things, to perform routine tasks, to think about anything except the pain. Lost wages and medical costs are often financially devastating to many people. One of the most common reasons that people buy books on suicide and physician assisted suicide, is the fear of living in severe intractable pain.

Pain is costly to society. The annual cost of chronic pain, including medical expenses, lost income, and lost productivity, but not the social costs, is estimated to exceed $10 billion.

Most pain is treatable. According to many experts, 90% of cancer pain can be relieved through relatively simple means. The truth is that fewer than half of cancer patients get adequate treatment for pain. A recent survey in the Medical Post indicated that 55% of physicians in Canada felt their peers were not doing enough to treat cancer pain.

Most pain is under treated. One recent study of chronic pain patients involved in litigation concluded that the overall rate of inaccurate or incomplete diagnosis at time of referral was 40% to 67 %. In a large survey of oncologists, 86% of respondents felt that the majority of patients with pain were under treated. Another study indicated that only 30% of practicing neurologists felt adequately trained to treat the entire spectrum of pain disorders. In general, the lack of medical training in pain management and the uneasiness of both healthcare providers and patients to deals with pain leads to widespread under treatment of both acute and chronic pain.

Most pain sufferers are under medicated. Although 91% of respondents in a recent survey believe prescription medication is effective in relieving pain, 2 out of 3 said that when they are in “fairly serious “pain they avoid taking pain medication until they really can not bear the pain. Research clearly indicates this only serves to worsen the pain.

Pain is stigmatized by society. Patients and healthcare professionals are embarrassed about pain, reluctant to acknowledge and talk about it candidly, thus they are often judgmental and ineffectual in dealing or in managing pain. Society has taught us that we should” learn to live with it” or “it will make you a better person”. No one should ever have to suffer unbearable pain for even short periods of time.

(Source: Chronic Pain Association of Canada)