50% of Americans are Affected by Chronic Pain

Nationwide, 150 million people (or 50% of the population) are either suffering from or caregivers for patients with chronic pain according to American Alliance of Cancer Pain Initiatives. With Americans living longer, many people will be living longer with chronic pain.

Beyond Chronic Pain is an easy-to-read resource to use in conjunction with traditional medical treatment or as a place to turn when all else seems lost. It was written based on St. Louis-area author Rebecca Rengo-Kocher's 25 years experience working with patients suffering from chronic pain along with their family members who were affected as caregivers. Rebecca is also a pain survivor herself and has experimented personally with all of the techniques she recommends in the book.

"This book follows the proven techniques that have worked for my patients," says Rebecca. "It is written to be independent of a patient's diagnosis because it can take years for some people to receive one, if ever. And many people have multiple diagnoses."

In Rebecca's experience, most people benefit from four characteristics to move beyond their pain--faith, hope, perseverance and love.

1. Faith. Another insight to move forward is to surrender to the pain. "That may seem counter intuitive but surrendering to the pain is letting go of the guilt, anger and negativity," explains Rebecca. "It is opening to possibilities."


2. Hope. The first step is to grieve the loss of the ability to do things that you can now no longer do. "Grieving is in the Hope section because patients must grieve in order to become optimistic," says Rebecca.


3. Perseverance. Patients going through perseverance are taking the the small forward steps to keep going. By trying some of the tips in this book, patients can learn to enjoy life now while also waiting for a cure.


4. Love. An important realization is to learn to love yourself and honor your body. "The body is not a prison; it is a temple to be honored and respected," says Rebecca. "You will have more and more good days once you learn this flow."

The book is organized into these four qualities and includes stories, caregiver tips and simple exercises. "Resonating with just one or two exercises or tips is all it takes for a patient to improve and start moving beyond chronic pain."

For more information contact: Rebecca Rengo-Kocher, Aging Consult, Inc., (636) 300-3948; or use this form.