Suicide of elderly woman ‘could have been avoided’

(ANSA) – Rimini, December 10 – The suicide of an elderly Italian woman who could no longer stand the pain from osteoarthritis is a “tragedy that could have been avoided,” the head of a foundation for pain research said Tuesday.

The 94-year-old woman in Rimini took her own life on Sunday by ingesting highly corrosive acid because of pain that could have been controlled, said William Raffaeli, president of the Isal Istituto for research into pain management.

He said that 16% of suicides are related to pain that has not been adequately controlled.

Raffaeli, a doctor in Rimini, said that the public must understand that “pain should be treated and not endured”.