A. Absolutely, they aren't getting the medications they need. We need better doctor education -- doctors and nurses are still very bad at getting symptom information out and giving people instructions. There's also a stigma for some people about taking medications. Caregivers can make it clear to older people, who might not be so willing to take pain medications, that it's OK to take them. In fact, that's a really key part of managing.
Also, if you tell someone in the hospital who's totally overwhelmed by their cancer that they should take the drug every four hours, and do this and this and this when they go home, what do you think they leave the hospital with? Absolutely nothing other than the prescription. So I'm a big proponent of giving people written instructions so that they at least have some way to remember what it is you told them. Otherwise they just don't.
