Pain and dignity: success in Catanzaro for the congress on Pain Therapy and Palliative Care
The president of the Lions Club Catanzaro Host, Pietro Maglio, opened the proceedings with a strong appeal: "We do not treat just bodies, but human beings. We need a new culture of care, based on relationships and listening."
CATANZARO – JUNE 26, 2025. Two intense days, over a hundred participants including doctors and healthcare workers, dozens of high-profile presentations. The Regional Congress on Pain Therapy and Palliative Care, held on June 20 and 21 in Catanzaro, represented a true turning point and multidisciplinary discussion on the future of care for fragile patients, in compliance with Law 38/2010.
Scientific directors of the congress were Dr. Pietro Maglio, director of the Pain Therapy Operational Unit, and Dr. Roberto Squillace, director of the Palliative Care Operational Unit at AOU “Renato Dulbecco.” An initiative strongly supported by the company management, particularly by the extraordinary commissioner Dr. Simona Carbone, with the full involvement of the academic and hospital world of the city.
Present were the leaders of the regional and university healthcare structures: among them, the director of the Onco-hematology Department Maria Concetta Galati, the president of the School of Medicine and Surgery Prof. Luca Gallelli, the directors of Anesthesia and Resuscitation Stefania Faragò and Prof. Federico Longhini, professors Pierosandro Tagliaferri and Pierfrancesco Tassone for Medical Oncology, and Prof. Angelo Lavano for Stereotactic Neurosurgery.
Adding value to the event were national experts such as Prof. Maria Caterina Pace (Vanvitelli University of Naples), Dr. Claudia Laterza (Puglia Region), Dr. Lucia Muraca, AISD Calabria representative and SIMG Pain manager for Southern Italy and the Islands.
The congress received the patronage of AOU “Renato Dulbecco,” Magna Graecia University, the Municipality of Catanzaro, the Order of Doctors, the Lions Club Catanzaro Host, and the main Italian scientific societies: SIAARTI, AISD, AAROI-EMAC, AIOM, SIMG.
Opening the proceedings was Dr. Pietro Maglio, also president of the Lions Club Catanzaro Host, with a speech full of meaning:
"Today we are not just talking about medicine. We are talking about dignity, compassion, and above all about care choices that put the person, not the disease, at the center."
"Too often, palliative care is associated exclusively with the last days of life. But we know well that palliation is a path that can and must begin early, alongside active treatments, improving quality of life and supporting not only the patient but the entire family."
"Pain, especially chronic pain, is a condition that can undermine identity, autonomy, and hope. It is a subjective, complex experience that requires an interdisciplinary approach: medical, psychological, rehabilitative, nursing."
"We cannot hide the critical issues: regional disparities, lack of trained personnel, prejudices about the use of opioids. We must move from organ-centered medicine to person-centered medicine."
"Even when it is not possible to cure, it is always possible to care, to relieve, to accompany. We need a new culture of care, based on relationships, listening, and respect for the person. May this congress be an opportunity to renew our alliance – as professionals, as institutions, as a society – to build a care system that leaves no one behind."
Among the main objectives of the congress was the relaunch of the implementation of the Regional Network for Pain Therapy and Palliative Care, including in the pediatric field, as provided for by Law 38/2010, but still severely underimplemented in Calabria, where only 6.4% of patients receive adequate care.
At the center of the debate was the need to overcome fragmented and sectoral approaches, building integrated care models between specialist medicine, general medicine, and the territorial network, also to address non-oncological chronic conditions.
The organizers expressed great satisfaction with the very high level of the presentations and the participation of all components of the healthcare and educational system. Praise was given to provider Xenia Eventi by Francesca Mazza, for the excellent logistical and organizational support that allowed the smooth running of the event.
The congress reiterated that pain therapy and palliative care are a right, not an option, and that every action in this sense represents a step forward in building a more humane and just healthcare system.
