Half of all People on Earth with Cancer Suffer in Pain: Anton Bilchik Discusses the Need to Improve Global Opioid Regulations

As a leading cancer surgeon and humanitarian, Anton Bilchik MD was dismayed to learn that more than half of the world’s population lives in countries without adequate access to painkillers for cancer patients. These individuals reside in nations that impose strict regulations intended to curb drug misuse. Results from the Global Opioid Policy Initiative show that more than 4 billion people live in countries where these regulations leave cancer patients to endure excruciating pain.

In the United States and other countries, cancer patients have access to powerful pain relievers recommended by the World Health Organization, or WHO. The International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care and WHO consider seven opioids essential to the relief of cancer pain: codeine, oral oxycodone, transdermal fentanyl, immediate and slow release oral morphine, as well as injectable morphine, and oral methadone. People in the United States and some other nations enjoy a robust supply of opioid painkillers, along with standardized regulations that allow physicians to prescribe these drugs.

The researchers assessed the availability of opioid analgesics in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East. The results, published in the Annals of Oncology, found the supply chain to be intact in these areas, but noted over-regulation made it difficult for physicians to prescribe and administer these drugs.

Anton Bilchik MD assures his patients that they will as pain-free as possible while he treats their cancer. Dr. Bilchik may prescribe a combination of opioids, chemotherapy or radiation, along with surgery, to reduce the spread and discomfort of cancer. He strongly urges cancer surgeons in other areas to push for regulations that allow for the use of opioid painkillers and other analgesics to bring patients relief while they engage in cancer treatment.