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CORVALLIS, Ore. - Pain affects more Americans than diabetes, heart disease and cancer combined, and a new public seminar series at Oregon State University will address some of the most critical issues around pain management.

"Pain and Its Meaning" is a series of seminars starting Tuesday, Oct. 12. It is presented by the Program in Medical Humanities at OSU, a new multidisciplinary integrated program to study health, medicine and the healing professions.

All seminars are free and open to the public. They take place in the Pharmacy building, room 305 and start at 7 p.m.

The seminar includes:

• Oct. 12: Dr. Sydney Piercey, neurologist with the Corvallis Clinic, "Pain: the 5th Vital Sign: what, when, where, how... what does it mean?"
• Oct. 19: Stacy Ramirez, OSU College of Pharmacy, "The Complexity of Pain Management and every Patient's Right to Treatment."
• Oct. 26: Gary DeLander, OSU College of Pharmacy, "Choices for Drug Treatment: How do they work and how do we choose?"
• Nov. 2: Salem Comprehensive Pain Center, "Bring the Entire Healthcare Team Together in Managing Difficulty Pain Syndromes."
• Nov. 9: Dr. Kyle Homertgen, osteopathic physician, "What Does Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment Have to Offer in Pain Management??"

The seminars are leading up to a campus visit in April, 2011 by Melanie Thernstrom, author of the New York Times' best-selling book, "The Pain Chronicles."

"Pain and Its Meaning" is a collaborative effort between the colleges of Liberal Arts, Pharmacy and Science.