By Michel H.E. Hermans, MD
Undertreatment of medical issues is not necessarily bad: palliative care usually only treats symptoms but not the underlying cause of the symptoms which, if the patient wants this, is very appropriate. Remember, Hippocrates said something about suffering and while a disease may be not curable, suffering quite often may be treated with proper medication or other interventions (though, unfortunately, this is not always the case). We should not be worried to give somebody with terminal illness and in serious pain the proper type and amount of medication, even if there is a chance the patient would get addicted.