The medical profession faces the dueling challenges of addressing the acute pain that accompanies almost all medical procedures and also reducing any unintentional drug addiction.

Opportunities are being missed, and time and money are being wasted. We all know people who are struggling with cancer and the intense challenges of the current treatment protocols. The needs are urgent and the time to act is now.

Corticosteroid treatment has been associated with many side effects. The most noted is increased loss of bone mineral density, causing a predisposition to osteoporosis.

High schools and colleges across our nation need to be aware of this growing threat and the need to educate students about the dangers of prescription drug misuse along with excessive drinking and illegal drug abuse.

When we consider many of the medicines that have been cited as being in short supply, such as injections for chemotherapy or injections inhibiting blood clotting, we are considering medications that are likely the product of a modern Western life far removed from the natural order of things.

As I reflect on why this wave of opiate addiction is so rapidly gaining hold in America, I realize that the answer lies in the new realities of how doctors must practice to earn their livelihood.