Q: How often do people keep silent about it?

A: Most of the data suggest it's frequent that patients and their families will not mention that they have pain. There are reasons why patients might not. They might think that it may not be related to the cancer. They might think it could be some other condition like arthritis or a cold. The patient may not want to distract or confuse their doctor, whose time is limited, and want them to focus on the treatment. In other cases, patients might be a little bit worried and not willing to accept the fact that it might be a sign cancer is there.