On Thursdays, many Facebook pages celebrate “throwback Thursday” with old images. Today, our blog joins in with a look back at last year, when Philip Pizzo served as Dean of Stanford Medical School and sat on our governing board. Lloyd Minor has since replaced him in both roles.
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| CIRM Chair Jonathan Thomas presents Philip Pizzo with a resolution honoring his service |
CIRM Chair Jonathan Thomas honored Pizzo with a resolution recognizing his service.
Pizzo Reflects on a Year of Chronic Pain
Recently, Pizzo wrote a personal perspective in the New England Journal of Medicine about his year-long battle with chronic pain. He already understood the issue well. He had chaired an Institute of Medicine panel on pain that released a major report in 2011. Still, his personal experience reshaped his understanding. He wrote that he once questioned whether chronic pain could be as incapacitating as patients claimed. Over the past year, he learned that it can overwhelm daily life, drain energy, and erode joy.
Doctors eventually found the source of his pain and treated it with surgery. However, without his persistence and a skilled medical team, the cause might have remained hidden. Reflecting on this experience, Pizzo emphasized the urgency of the IOM report’s recommendations. He noted the need for a cultural shift in how we understand, assess, and treat pain nationwide.
Calling for a National Shift in Pain Care
In an interview with Ruthann Richter for Stanford’s Scope blog, Pizzo explained why he chose to write about his experience. He hopes his story encourages a broader discussion about chronic pain and helps elevate the voices of the 100 million people who live with it.
Although Pizzo no longer serves on our board, his thoughtful, compassionate approach continues to support the many people facing chronic pain.
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