A Global Policy Approach to Freedom from Cancer Pain

Dr. Kathy Foley, USA, leading expert on global cancer pain policy from the Open Society Foundation, calls for a global policy approach to freedom from cancer pain. There is a sense of urgency from international and regional government agencies for access to opioids to treat cancer pain, but there is insufficient action from them upon their political resolutions. To be effective, pain relief measures need to be part of a national cancer control and palliative care plan. Pain relief is essential in cancer and also plays a major role in HIV/AIDS and other diseases. Dr. Foley calls upon champions in each country to advocate for policy reform, and provides examples of success stories in various countries around the world.

This video was recorded during ESMO 2012, the Congress of the European Society for Medical Oncology. It is part of a series of presentations on the survey results of an international collaborative project on regulatory barriers to the availability and accessibility of opioids for cancer pain management in Africa, Asia, Latin America & the Caribbean, and the Middle East.

For more information about the survey and the many organisations supporting it, please visit: http://www.esmo.org/Policy/Opioid-Survey

Read all the news about the latest in cancer and oncology from the ESMO 2012 Congress: http://www.esmo.org/Conferences/Past-...

Video produced by the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO)