Necessary Risks

Abstract

The practice of medicine has two major goals: the prolongation of life and the relief of suffering. I think that few persons will deny that efforts to make life more tolerable are at least as important as those to extend it. Yet, the paradox is that the medical profession, the pharmaceutical industry, governmental agencies and, perhaps most important, the judicial system act as though the relief of discomfort for cancer patients does not warrant the same risk and effort as attempts at prolonging their survival. The recent withdrawal from clinical trials of nabilone, the synthetic cannabinoid manufactured by Eli Lilly . . .