For patients with severe chronic pain, a highly sophisticated pump, known as the SynchroMed Infusion System is implanted in the abdomen and delivers up to six months of medicine. This system is used to treat accident victims, cancer patients and those with severe spasticity. When most people reflect on death, the greatest fear they have is the thought of suffering. For many people, pain and acute physical discomfort are more frightening than the act of dying. Unfortunately, time limiting illnesses such as cancer always seem synonymous with pain and discomfort. This does not have to be the case. Remarkable medical advances and increased sensitivity to patient anxiety have resulted in pain management techniques and procedures eliminating the pain and the attendant discomfort caused by large doses of orally-administered drugs.

Failure to relieve cancer pain adequately can interfere with the effectiveness of the treatment of the cancer, thus limiting the patient's ability to benefit from treatment.