UC Davis Professor Scott Fishman promoted his new book, “The War on Pain,” at a Renaissance Society forum in the University Union’s Hinde Auditorium on Friday.

Fishman, the chief of Division of Pain Medicine and professor of anesthesiology and pain medicine, said the problem with treating pain is that no matter what a person does, no one that is happy with the results.

“You are damned if you do treat, and damned if you don’t,” Fishman said.

Fishman said one problem with pain is the difficulty to distinguish between doing what is right and what is wrong.

He added that up to 50 percent of the population is in some kind of pain and that 25 percent of the population is in chronic pain.

“Pain is the most common reason people go to the doctor, and the big thing that I would tell other doctors is ‘Cure when you can, but treat always,'” Fishman said.

The professor also talked about different tools people use to prevent pain, such as the zapper, which a person can press on the area that hurts to make the pain go away.

Fishman also said people are being left behind when it comes to being treated for pain.

“We fail our children, women, minorities and people with cancer,” Fishman said.

Fishman added that pain is an alarm that signals something is wrong.

“The risk of doing nothing, when it comes to pain, is very significant,” Fishman said.

Philip Malan can be reached at [email protected].