End-of-life cancer patients' total pain: the necessity to supplement pharmacology with psycho-socio-spiritual treatments.

To analyze pain considering its different bio-psycho-social-spiritual manifestations and to assess the effectiveness of the analgesic treatments in end-of-life cancer patients. The study was cross-sectional. A total of 376 end-of-life cancer inpatients participated in the research. Their socio-demographic and clinical data were collected and, during the first psychological consultancy, they filled in a set of validated rating scales assessing pain, anxiety, depression and quality of life. The results show that physical pain was well managed for almost all patients. Nevertheless, the majority showed clinically significant levels of psychological distress. Treating pain means caring for all its possible manifestations including psychological symptoms and reduced wellbeing. Thus, integrating pharmacological treatment with psycho-socio-spiritual interventions, in other words, psychological, social and spiritual support, could be effective and desirable.