New pain diagnosis and treatment center set up in Shanghai

Shanghai's first-ever pain diagnosis and treatment center was established at the Shanghai Tianyou Hospital Affiliated to Tongji University on Friday.

The Botong Pain Diagnosis and Treatment Center will be dedicated to alleviating and treating refractory pains caused by cancer, pains in body joints as well as chronic and intractable pains.

The center said that it will also work with pain clinics from different hospitals in the municipality to train doctors as part of efforts to improve standardized diagnosis and treatment.

Experts said that pain clinics started in the country in the 1980s and pain medicine has thrived since such clinics were widely set up in hospitals in 2007.

"Internationally, pain is now regarded as a disease rather than a syndrome, and pain medicine is growing in importance in our country's public health because of aging and the increasing incidence of tumor," said Wang Junjie, a professor of pain medicine at Shanghai Changzheng Hospital.

"Doctors can do more in pain management and we want to tell patients that it does no good to endure chronical pains, especially when cancer progresses into advanced stages," added Wang, who is one of the experts at the center.

Medical professionals noted that pain treatment is an important part in palliative therapy, and for advanced-stage cancer patients, an earlier start palliative therapy usually means better prognosis and higher survival rates.

Wang pointed out that pain alleviation will also improve the moods of sufferers and reduce the burden of family care.

On Friday, the Shanghai Cancer Recovery Club signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Botong center to provide their members with access to medical treatment and doctors.