Pain in oncology, and especially in diagnosis and treatment of cancer pain. patients with advanced disease, is an The reader will find useful information essential issue which cannot be over- and suggestions as how to diagnose and looked. treat pain from a pharmacological and Today, pain is worldwide recognised surgical point of view. as a very complex symptom which in- Pain treatment is a very important cludes different aspects such as somatic, part of quality of life: due to its rele- spiritual, social and psychological pain. vance, we think that this manual will be Practical and scientific knowledge of a very useful tool for all health profes- pain in cancer should be part of the pre- sionals, and we are grateful to Drs De and post-training of general practi- Conno and Caraceni for their generous contribution in making this effort suc- tioners, oncologists and nurses. This manual reflects the opinion of cessful.