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Dealing with Cancer Pain
by Debra Sully
http://www.fpaino.com
Many people with cancer experience pain; in fact 30% to 50%
of people who are undergoing cancer treatment are in pain
due to the treatment itself while 70% to 90% of patients
with an advanced stage of cancer are in pain.
The pain signal comes in different versions that are
treatable with prescription drugs and other actions in 95%
of cancer patients. Pain generally hits in two ways:
chronic and breakthrough. Simply, pain is a message from
the nerves about a problem in the body and a signal that
something is being damaged. Treatments of pain can trigger
different pain signals. For instance, chemotherapy, which
kills cancer cells, sends off pain messages to the brain
about cells being attacked. A message about damage can be
chronic, which ends up affecting the whole well being from
the body to the mind. When this message spikes and
temporarily increases, the pain is called breakthrough.
However, while cancer patients should not be experiencing
pain, surveys of cancer patients conclude that pain is not
treated aggressively enough for many patients. There are
several factors for this. First, patients may not be
accurately reporting their pain and prefer to "suffer in
silence" rather than be perceived as complaining about
their condition. Some doctors may be more focused on
treating the cancer than about asking the patient about
pain and aggressively pursuing it. A third factor is that
both doctors and patients may be uneasy about prescribing
or taking powerful painkillers like morphine, which may be
addictive.
Painkillers aren't the only treatment options to
successfully end cancer pain. Some non-drug alternatives
involve therapies. Many therapies coupled with painkillers
work effectively too. These include biofeedback,
acupuncture, massage and hypnosis. Many cancerous tumors
are removable by surgery or shrunk with radiation therapies.
Radiation therapy is employed to relieve pain when a tumor
impinges on nerves and organs.
Pain medications are most effective if they are taken on a
regular schedule, such as every 8 or 12 hours. A regular
schedule keeps a fixed amount of pain medication in the
body at all times. An additional dose may be taken on
demand if breakthrough pain occurs. Many people do not
want to rely on pain medication and prefer to take it when
the pain becomes severe. This is totally the wrong approach
as the pain has taken over. It is easier to manage pain
with a regular schedule than try to overcome pain.
This is a complicated disease; so don't be surprised
if your pain treatment must adjust as your cancer changes.
You may have to play with different solutions before finding
the right combination for your pain. Don't think that you
should feel "out of it" to be pain-free; if you experience
this, discuss this with your doctor and change your pain
treatment.
If you or a loved one are experiencing pain from cancer,
meet with your doctor to explore the avenues of pain relief
that are best for you.
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