Indonesia: Status of cancer pain and palliative care

Indonesia is a large archipelago with an estimated 203,000-365,400 new cancer cases a year. Most cases present in the advanced stage. Pain is the chief complaint in 89% of the patients of the palliative care unit at Dr. Soetomo hospital. The program is a community-based, family-oriented, and culturally adapted home care, widely applicable throughout the country. The service and medication should be affordable, simple, and available. The WHO three-step ladder has been adopted as the method of choice in cancer pain relief. Facilities supportive for the program are the existing health-care delivery system and nonformal support system (Indonesian Cancer Foundation and Organization for Family Welfare Promotion, PKK). The chief constraints for program implementation are the geographical and population problems, lack of resources and funding for the training of health-care workers, and limited availability of oral morphine.