As an Italian physician who participates in oncology research, I laud the authors of the "prescription for living," AJN, and the Oncology Nursing Society for their work in helping long-term cancer survivors. In Europe very little is known about posttreatment pain syndromes in these patients, and the Italian Ministry of Health has recently funded a national research program on the problems of long-term survivors of cancer. AJN's Web site dedicated to articles on this topic (http://www.nursingcenter.com/ajncancersurvivors) will be helpful to researchers and survivors. (I used the information in AJN's article in a recent course that was well received.) And I agree with Haylock and colleagues when they wrote in their April article, "Although research must substantiate the effectiveness of interventions, it's not necessary to wait for that evidence before acting to meet survivors' needs."

Vittorio Mattioli, MD

Bari, Italy