Purdue Pharma Responds to Salem-News.com Article

A Purdue Pharma official wrote to "urge" me to remember the millions with poorly controlled pain as I pursue my advocacy agenda; it is an insult. I choose to remember those suffering with the loss of family members and those dealing with hopeless addiction.

(MYRTLE BEACH, S.C.) - I received the below email this morning from Russell K. Portenoy, MD in response to my recent article in the Salem-News.com.

I chose to reply to Portenoy's email via Salem-News rather than personally because I feel there is an obligation for the victims of OxyContin who no longer have a voice to be heard.

First, for Portenoy to write to "urge" me to remember the millions with poorly controlled pain as I pursue my advocacy agenda, is an insult. I chose to remember the families who are suffering with the loss of family members and those dealing with hopeless addiction -- in particular to OxyContin as it was marketed as less likely to be addictive or abused to physicians and patients.

My piece -- and my work for the past 7-1/2 years -- has never been based on innuendo or unjustified assumptions.

Am I not correct that this report "A Call to Revolutionize Chronic Pain Care in America" which shows Portenoy's name on it as a "Committee Co-Chair" says on Page 3 "For example, most children receive 24 immunizations before their second birthday, yet much of the time their pain is ignored or discounted. Such pain, although brief can be very intense and can lead to long-lasting anxiety."

Above this reference on the report that you co-chaired -- and I assume read -- states "In some cases, health professionals do not have enough training to prescribe medications or techniques to soothe a child in pain." A physician does not have to prescribe Tylenol, but does have to prescribe a narcotic. An infant or toddler receiving a narcotic for immunization pain is not "suffering from the undertreatment of pain."

Ask any mother of an infant or toddler how credible they believe this statement is. Yes Dr. Portneoy my hope is that an increasingly informed public will not "mirror the disappointment that you felt when reading my piece." Especially when these informed members of the public read newspapers, watch the evening news and deal with reducing human suffering in the loss of their family members as they try to celebrate the holidays because we have been thrust into an epidemic of drug addiction, abuse and death. But then these family members aren't being funded by Purdue Pharma.

Since I don't receive financial reward from convicted criminals, I think I've made my point.

Dear Ms. Skolek, After reading your piece in the Salem-News.com, I wanted to write and urge you to remember the millions with poorly controlled pain as you pursue your advocacy agenda. The consensus report released by the committee that I co-chaired was not about opioid therapy, but rather, about the need for fundamental reform of a system that fails to help huge numbers of patients—of all ages—and is both inefficient and too costly. It is not surprising that your piece is based on innuendo and unjustified assumptions when it there is so little in our report that relates to your issue. Hopefully, an increasingly informed public will only mirror the disappointment that I felt when reading a piece that dismisses the needs of so many suffering people in a stretch to make a point. Russell K. Portenoy MD Chairman and
Gerald J. Friedman Chair in Pain Medicine and Palliative Care
Department of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care
Beth Israel Medical Center Professor of Neurology and Anesthesiology
Albert Einstein College of Medicine Chief Medical Officer
Continuum Hospice Care Contact: Department of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care
Beth Israel Medical Center
First Avenue at 16th Street
New York, N.Y. 10003
212-844-1505
fax 212-844-1503

Salem-News.com Reporter Marianne Skolek, is an Activist for Victims of OxyContin throughout the United States and Canada. In July 2007, she testified against Purdue Pharma in Federal Court in Virginia at the sentencing of their three CEO's who pled guilty to charges of marketing OxyContin as less likely to be addictive or abused to physicians and patients. She also testified against Purdue Pharma at a Judiciary Hearing of the U.S. Senate in July 2007. Marianne works with government agencies and private attorneys in having a voice for her daughter Jill, who died in 2002 after being prescribed OxyContin, as well as the voice for scores of victims of OxyContin. She has been involved in her work for the past 7-1/2 years and is currently working on a book that exposes Purdue Pharma for their continued criminal marketing of OxyContin.

Marianne is a nurse having graduated in 1991 as president of her graduating class. She also has a Paralegal certification. Marianne served on a Community Service Board for the Courier News, a Gannet newspaper in NJ writing articles predominantly regarding AIDS patients and their emotional issues. She was awarded a Community Service Award in 1993 by the Hunterdon County, NJ HIV/AIDS Task Force in recognition of and appreciation for the donated time, energy and love in facilitating a Support Group for persons with HIV/AIDS.