Cain J M, Hammes B J
University of Washington Medical Center, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Seattle 98195.
J Pain Symptom Manage. 1994 Apr;9(3):160-5. doi: 10.1016/0885-3924(94)90125-2.
The fear of pain is common among cancer patients. The management of cancer pain can raise troubling ethical issues for medicine and society. Medical caregivers have an ethical duty to provide therapy that benefits patients by achieving one or more goals of medicine at all points. Pain and symptom relief may be the only achievable goal when curative therapy has failed. Relief of pain can restore decision-making capacity and enhance the patient's right to self-determination. The underpinning ethical principles and extensions of these principles in the medical context of pain control with varying medical goals in cancer care, including dying patients, is explored.
癌症患者普遍害怕疼痛。癌症疼痛的管理会给医学和社会带来棘手的伦理问题。医护人员有道德义务在任何时候都提供能通过实现医学的一个或多个目标而使患者受益的治疗。当治愈性治疗失败时，缓解疼痛和症状可能是唯一可实现的目标。缓解疼痛可以恢复决策能力并增强患者的自决权。本文探讨了在癌症护理（包括临终患者）中，在不同医疗目标下疼痛控制的医学背景下这些基本原则及其延伸。
