Cancer Pain

Cancer pain: Relief is possible

Not everyone with cancer has cancer pain, but some do. If you have cancer that's spread or recurred, your chance of having pain is higher. Cancer pain takes many forms. It can be dull, achy, sharp or burning. It can be constant, intermittent, mild, moderate or severe. How much pain you feel depends on a number of factors, including the type of cancer you have, how advanced it is, where it's situated and your pain tolerance. Most cancer pain is manageable, and controlling your pain is an essential part of your treatment.

What causes cancer pain ?

Pain can be caused by the cancer itself. Pain could happen if the cancer grows into or destroys nearby tissue. As a tumor grows, it can press on nerves, bones or organs. The tumor can also release chemicals that can cause pain. Treatment of the cancer can help the pain in these situations. However, cancer treatments, including surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, also can cause pain.

How do you treat cancer pain?

A number of treatments are available for cancer pain. Your options may depend on what’s causing your cancer pain and the intensity of the pain you’re feeling. You may need a combination of pain treatments to find the most relief.

Options include:

  • Over-the-counter pain relievers. For mild and moderate levels of pain, pain relievers that don’t require a prescription may help. Examples include aspirin, acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) and ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others).
  • Medications derived from opium (opioids). Opioids are prescription medications used to treat moderate to severe pain. Examples of opioids include morphine (Kadian, Ms Contin, others) and oxycodone (Oxycontin, Roxicodone, others). Some opioids are short-acting medicines, so pain relief comes quickly but you may need to take them more often. Other opioid drugs are long-acting medicines, so pain relief takes longer but the medicine doesn’t need to be taken as often. Sometimes short-acting and long-acting opioids are used together.
  • Other prescription medicines. Other types of medicine can help relieve pain, including antidepressants, anti-seizure drugs and steroids.

  • Procedures to block pain signals. A nerve block procedure can be used to stop pain signals from being sent to the brain. In this procedure, a numbing medicine is injected around or into a nerve.

  • Integrative therapies. Some people find some pain relief through acupuncture, massage, physical therapy, relaxation exercises, meditation and hypnosis

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