ALLEVIATE PAIN

EVANSTON - Lord preserve me from an oncologist who has a strong
religious or philosophical belief in the virtue of suffering as Jose
A. Bufill seems to (Commentary, Jan. 10). Such a physician might deny
me adequate pain medication and convince himself he was enhancing my
spiritual development.

The point is, virtually all end of life pain is controllable with
available medications, but unfortunately many physicians are too
timid, too intimidated by the FDA (which has made far too many pain
patients unwitting casualties of the war on drugs), or see no benefit
in alleviating their patient's pain.

Suffering from pain is not necessary. How dare any physician impose it
upon his patients with self-righteous cant about its worth?

One, and perhaps the most hopeful, result of the legalization of
assisted suicide in Oregon is that the amount of pain medication
(primarily morphine) prescribed for severe pain has increased
dramatically there. Because patients have a legal alternative,
physicians are finally taking their duty to alleviate pain seriously.
And, as one would expect, when the pain is alleviated, the motivation
for suicide is usually gone.

What a shame it takes such extreme measures for physicians to get the
message--don't romanticize suffering, alleviate it.

Sue Wasconis