The relief of suffering is one of the central goals in all of health care, but very little research has examined how common suffering is and what it actually means to patients. Now, a new study of patients receiving palliative care for cancer has revealed that suffering may be far less common than traditionally assumed.

In detailed interviews, 381 patients across Canada were asked the basic question “In an overall, general sense, do you feel that you are suffering?” The results are part of the Canadian National Palliative Care Survey funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

• Dr. Keith Wilson, Ph.D., C.Psych., an Associate Scientist at the Ottawa Health Research Institute, Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Ottawa, Psychologist at The Ottawa Hospital Rehabilitation Centre, and Scientist at the Elisabeth Bruyère Research Institute.