This year marks the fifteenth National Tumor Prevention and Control Awareness Week in China. The Chinese Anti-Cancer Association has decided to recognize 2009 as the Year of Pain Relief. The theme of this year’s publicity week is “standardizing cancer pain treatment and improving quality of life”. The theme of this year’s campaign is “Standardize Cancer Pain Treatment and Improve Quality of Life”, which advocates the World Health Organization’s principle of three-step pain treatment, promotes the mastery of cancer pain assessment methods and the promotion of new medicines, technologies and means for cancer pain treatment, and calls on the whole society to pay attention to the cancer pain population and the treatment of cancer pain, so as to enable cancer pain patients to enjoy a better quality of life. According to the statistics of the World Health Organization, about 50% of cancer patients have pain symptoms, and 70% of advanced cancer patients consider cancer pain as the main symptom. Popularizing and improving the knowledge of cancer pain is something we must spend a lot of effort on. Standardized cancer pain treatment is undoubtedly an effective way to solve cancer pain. Cancer pain affects not only the patients themselves but also their families. It is a social problem, so to speak. Cancer pain, once we did not pay enough attention to we once did not recognize: cancer pain, can reduce the effect of cancer treatment; can aggravate other symptoms of cancer patients; seriously affect the quality of life of cancer patients; aggravate all kinds of burdens of patients’ families. A three-step treatment program for cancer pain is proposed: mild generally tolerable, mainly applying non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and painkillers; moderate pain, mainly applying weak opioids (e.g., codeine); and severe pain, difficult to tolerate, requiring the use of strong opioids (e.g., morphine). We should not limit the use of analgesic drugs for cancer pain patients, but rather find ways to control their cancer pain. Many people have misconceptions about morphine. Many people have concerns about the use of narcotic drugs, and the word “morphine” is perceived by many as a drug that is addictive. Such awareness has a serious impact on the use of medication for cancer pain patients, with the fear of “addiction”. This problem exists among both the public and healthcare professionals. The solution to this fear of addiction begins with the healthcare worker. We need to learn the principles and methods of cancer pain treatment and popularize the knowledge of cancer pain among the public and medical workers. Patients with real cancer pain are not addicted to morphine, they use morphine for the purpose of pain relief, not for “mental dependence” on morphine. Cancer pain can be treated Cancer pain treatment reflects the speed of updating medical concepts, the speed of updating technology and the level of medical management. As early as in 2000, WHO proposed “making cancer pain free”. “It is the basic right of patients to be pain-free. Doctors should not only treat the disease, but also protect the patient’s quality of life. We promote the idea that cancer pain is a disease in itself, the most complex pain problem. If you have pain, you should go to a doctor for effective pain management. Cancer pain can be treated – in addition to medications, the WHO’s three-step treatment program for cancer pain can provide effective pain relief in 80-90% of cancer patients, and in more than 75% of patients with advanced disease. For pain in some lesions, radiation therapy can also relieve pain. Cancer pain patients, please contact your oncologist to standardize your cancer pain treatment and improve your quality of life.