My wife, Patrice, suffers with chronic pain and leads the local chapter
at the Crystal Cathedral. The goal is to teach people with chronic pain
ways of coping between visits to the doctor. Members of the group find
it invaluable for learning tricks of the trade for going from "patient
to person, "which is the ACPA's theme. The national office is in
Rocklin, Calif., and can be reached at (acpa@pacbell.net) or
9166320922.

Chronic pain can be debilitating,and many times the cause is not
treatable. However, the pain itself can be lessened to a tolerable
level with the proper use of pain medication.

In these times of medical costcutting, HMO gatekeepers and governmental
threats to doctors, adequate treatment is difficult to find and many
suffers of chronic pain fall through the cracks. Those with chronic
pain tend to become isolated from friends and family and suffering alone
only makes things worse.

Support groups are a valuable piece in the painmanagement puzzle.

Steve Demory
Orange