![]() Morphine as a “last resort” was the central theme to emerge from the interviews. Their views and experiences about morphine fell into four distinct but inter-related categories: anticipation of death, morphine as a last resort, the role of the professional, and no choice but to commence. The patients interviewed were all white and half of them were women. The interviews were analysed along with an experienced social scientist Dr Rachael Gooberman-Hill, and Geoffrey Hanks, Professor of Palliative Medicine, both from the University of Bristol. Dr Reid also wanted to understand the factors that influenced patients’ decisions whether to accept or to reject morphine. She wanted to examine how patients reacted when first offered an opioid drug described as similar to morphine. ![]() ![]() If this connection stays in place then morphine will continue to be viewed as a comfort measure for the dying rather than a means of pain control for the living.”ĭr Reid, Senior Lecturer at Bristol University and a Consultant in Palliative Medicine at the Gloucester Royal Hospital, conducted in-depth interviews with 18 patients with metastatic cancer, aged between 55 and 82, who were asked to take part in a cancer pain management trial. Previous studies have estimated that between 40-70 per cent of cancer patients may not have their pain properly controlled with the right medication for a variety of reasons.ĭr Colette Reid, the lead author of the study, said: “If we are to employ the range of available opioids in order to successfully manage pain caused by cancer, we must ensure that morphine does not remain inextricably linked with death. In a study published online today (Tuesday 11 December) in the cancer journal, Annals of Oncology, experts in palliative care at Bristol University also say “the belief that opioids hasten death is widely held” amongst patients and this “has a significant impact on pain management, as patients felt that an offer of opioids signified imminent death”. Cancer patients are suffering unnecessarily because they wrongly believe that morphine and other opioids are only used as “comfort for the dying” and as a “last resort” rather than seeing them as legitimate pain killers that can improve their quality of life.
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