Organizing pain control and rehabilitation service in a cancer centre.

A unique programme of rehabilitation and pain control has been created within the Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori in Milan. Rehabilitation of mastectomy, amputee and ostomy patients has been very active and, particularly in this last group, a good rehabilitative outcome may be observed. Pain evaluation was one of the main problems. The treatment modalities have been refined in order to obtain the maximum pain relief with the minimum trauma possible. These treatments are based on a closely monitored analgesic drug administration and on percutaneous thermocontrolled lesions. The growing needs of the Cancer Institution have brought to about 30 000 the number of treatments performed by the Service during the last year. Nevertheless, enormous efforts are necessary to break the barrier of indifference to this problem that still persists in the oncologic field.