Relieving Pain - A DIY Guide. As a doctor who has cared for the dying I have often been asked to kill people. One reason is that the fear of pain is usually greater than the fear of death itself. All of us have relatives or friends who have died of cancer, and many of us have traumatic memories of a painful deterioration. What is scandalous is that in almost every case their suffering was largely preventable and unnecessary, inflicted not by the disease but by shocking medical ignorance, arrogance, complacency and pride.