A comparative study of patients who experience chronic malignant pain in India and the United States

Cancer is a major world health problem. Over 7 million new cases of cancer are diagnosed annually, and about half of the cases are in developing countries. Even though half of the world's cancer patients live in developing countries, < 10% of the resources committed to cancer control are available to them. Reports have shown that between 30-50% of cancer patient are either experiencing pain or being treated for it. The literature supports the idea that pain does not have the same debilitating effect in the Eastern cultures as it does in the Western cultures. Therefore, patients from both a Western and an Eastern culture were observed. This qualitative research, based on grounded theory, sampled 10 persons from India and 10 from the United States. Focused, open-ended interviews were used as the main manner of gathering data. There was a significant difference in the degree of pain experienced by each culture, which was related to available resources. The most significant finding was that the report of pain was not proportional to the quality of life and meaning found in this pain experience for each patient. This research indicates the need for health professionals to assess, implement a plan of care for, and evaluate the effectiveness of pain modalities for patients with chronic malignant pain. Health professionals need to pay attention to the experience of pain and its effect on the quality of life.