Posts Tagged ‘Cancer’
Pain Relief for Cancer Patients
Last Updated on Monday, 23 August 2010 07:20 Written by admin Monday, 23 August 2010 07:20
If you suffer from cancer-related pain, you have more than one option for pain relief.
About one in three patients experience pain from cancer. The more advanced the cancer, the more likely it is that you will have pain and require some sort of pain management or pain relief.
Cancer pain can be severe or mild, and it can be constant or it may only occur once in awhile. As cancer research progresses, doctors have become quite familiar with all forms of cancer-related pain and with the pain relief options they can offer their patients.
Pain can come from treatments, from nerve pressure or from tumors. Depending on the severity and source of the pain, your doctor will prescribe aspirin, acetaminophen, anti-inflammatory medication like ibuprofen, or perhaps even codeine, or stronger medications like morphine, oxycondone, or others.
In some cases, your doctor may prescribe massage, self-hypnosis, meditation, acupuncture or acupressure for pain relief.
If you plan to use medication for pain relief, you should understand that pain medications do have side effects. You may become constipated, feel confused or lethargic, or even have hallucinations in extreme cases. If your doctor gives you a prescription for pain relief, be sure to stay in touch with him or her and let the doctor know if you have symptoms or side effects.
Sometimes, the symptoms or side effects are temporary, while your body is adjusting to the new medication, and these symptoms may disappear after a week or two. If you are taking anti-inflammatory medication like Advil, ibuprofens or other medication, with frequency, be sure to have your doctor check your blood pressure and perform periodic blood work to monitor your kidney function etc.
If taken regularly, aspirin can cause ulcers or gastrointestinal bleeding, so you’ll want to monitor your health and symptoms carefully.
When you talk to your doctor about pain relief, your doctor will probably ask you to rate your pain on a scale of one to ten. How severe does the pain get? How often do you get the pain? What type of pain are you feeling?
With this information in mind, your doctor will recommend pain relief techniques or medications. Remember, YOU are the patient. If you do not want to take a certain medication or you would prefer a more natural method of pain management, discuss these preferences with your doctor and ask for recommendations.
If you find that you are still not able to achieve relief from the pain you feel, ask your doctor to refer you to a Pain Management clinic or specialist. All large cancer treatment programs have pain management services and these are covered by standard health insurance policies. You do not have to suffer in silence!
If you work together with your doctor and other specialists, you can find a pain management technique or combination of techniques and medication, to help you handle your cancer-related pain.
Whether your pain is mild or severe, you can find treatment options and information about pain relief by visiting our web site: Pain Relief
About Pain Prevention During Cancer Treatments
Last Updated on Tuesday, 17 August 2010 09:18 Written by admin Tuesday, 17 August 2010 09:18
Pain prevention is important when a patient is diagnosed with a disease. Illnesses, like cancer or arthritis, are accompanied by severe pain. This makes it extremely difficult for an individual to maintain a sense of normalcy in their daily life because they are unable to perform daily task. Doctors and medical specialists can help you find the right regiment to alleviate any pain you experience from a disease.
Debilitating diseases, such as arthritis and cancer, share a common connection when it comes to pain. Patients who suffer from arthritis, which is an inflammation of the joints, often need physical or therapeutic exercise. This type of arthritis pain control helps to increase joint flexibility and muscle mobility.
Cancer treatments often have the same affect, leaving the person feeling weak and helpless. Cancer treatment has different effects on people, depending on the type of disease. Individuals respond to treatments based on how far the cancer has advanced, and pain prevention should be individualized.
If you are diagnosed with cancer, it is important to set up a plan with your physician to develop a pain prevention plan. This will help you handle the changes your body will experience as you take treatments needed to eradicate the cancer from your body.
Therefore, when you first experience a pain in your body, you should tell your doctor where the pain is located, how severe it is, how long the pain lasted and if you experienced a recurrence of it in the same location. Providing all of this to your health care provider will allow them to set up solutions to help you manage the pain.
For individuals suffering from arthritis, there are a slew of medications available to help relieve the pain. Patients may have several different methods which make up their arthritis pain prevention plan. This could be incorporating anti-inflammatory drugs along with therapeutic exercises.
The same mindset is used when it comes to cancer prevention, and doctors have to try different medications on a person before finding the winning remedy. The National Cancer Institute suggests a three-step medication plan for pain prevention in cancer patients. The first level is for treating mild to moderate pain, and uses anti-inflammatory drugs or medications with acetaminophen.
If the pain continues to persist, doctors go to level two or level three pain medications. These could include doses or morphine to relieve severe and lasting pain. Other remedies, such as radiation therapy, can be added to pain medication treatments to help manage the cancer.
Depending on the severity of the disease, pain prevention methods may need to include physical and emotional therapies as well. Physical therapy, hot and cold massages and breathing methods are all used to help weak muscles.
Psychological support is also a method used to help cancer patients cope with the incapacitation they feel from the disease. The emotional support is important when coping with the feeling of helplessness patients feel when they can’t perform simple task like dressing themselves.
Your doctor will have to help find a pain prevention method that will fit your condition. Because all cancers react differently in patients, the pain your experience will be different than other patients with the same illness.
It is important to maintain constant communication with your physician about your pain so they can help you find a treatment and provide you with a sense of normalcy.
Visit Mike Selvon cancer prevention portal for more information on pain prevention, and leave a comment at our cancer prevention blog. Don’t forget to claim your FREE self help ebook on dealing with cancer.
Tags: About, Cancer, During, Pain, Prevention, Treatments | Posted under Tips | No Comments
Controlling Cancer Pain
Last Updated on Friday, 23 July 2010 06:16 Written by admin Friday, 23 July 2010 06:16
The Pain caused by cancer usually falls into one of two categories:
Nociceptive Pain and Neuropathic Pain.
Nociceptive pain is caused by damage to tissue. It is usually described as sharp, aching, or throbbing pain. It is often due to tumours or cancer cells that are growing larger and crowding body parts near the cancer site. It may also be from cancer that has spread to the bones, muscles, or joints, or caused a blockage of an organ or blood vessels.
Neuropathic pain happens when there is actual nerve damage. It may be caused by a tumour pressing on a nerve or a group of nerves. People often describe this pain as a burning or heavy sensation, or numbness.
If you have been diagnosed with cancer pain, talk to your doctor to learn whether you may be a candidate for pain-control pump (intrathecal drug delivery). Your doctor (or a doctor to whom you are referred) will put you through a screening process to determine if these treatments may benefit you. Results vary; not every result is the same.
Key messages about cancer pain
The experience of pain will be different for every patient.
? Pain does not always get worse. The level of pain experienced may remain unchanged, or may increase or decrease. In any situation medication can be adjusted to ensure pain relief.
? Pain is not related to the extent of the cancer. Experiencing pain does not necessarily mean that the cancer is more serious than if you had no pain.
? Take action as soon as the pain starts. Take pain relief when you first start to feel uncomfortable. It is harder to ease pain once it has taken hold. Taking medication for pain relief when the pain is bearable will not make the medication less effective later. The aim is to prevent pain. If you wait until the pain comes back you will suffer from unnecessary pain.
? When pain relief is taken regularly or ‘by the clock’ (such as every 4 hours), there is little danger that you will become addicted to these drugs. Addiction to pain killers is very rare in women with metastatic breast cancer. The dose can be tailored to your needs. Doses are increased or decreased according to the severity of your pain.
? Drugs for pain do not usually make you feel drowsy after the first or second day. Drowsiness can occur with strong pain relief drugs like morphine. However, the drowsiness usually passes in one or two days. People vary in how the medication affects them. You should ask your general practitioner about whether you can drive or work with machinery, and the effect of drinking alcohol with your medication.
? If one drug does not effectively help your pain, many other drugs or combinations of drugs can be used to give you pain relief. There is a large range of effective drugs for pain of all types and severity. It may take time, in consultation with your doctor, to establish the drug or drug combination that is right for you.
? Any pain can be difficult to cope with. However, pain is more difficult to cope with if you are also experiencing anxiety or depression. Also, being in pain can make you more likely to be depressed or anxious. If you are concerned by the feelings you are experiencing, it is important that you talk to your doctor as soon as possible.
Why Do People Suffer With Pain?
Many people suffer with chronic pain because they are unaware of treatment options that can help them live more normal lives. Others have fears that prevent them from talking about their pain, which in turn creates barriers to seeking adequate relief. (Not all treatment options are applicable to your type of pain.)
Read the following to see if you fall into one of these categories. If you can relate to these fears, remember that help and relief are possible, but only if you discuss your symptoms with your doctor.
? Fear of being labelled a “bad patient.” You won’t find relief if you don’t talk with your doctor about your pain.
? Fear that increased pain may mean that your disease has worsened. Regardless of the state of your disease, the right treatment for pain may improve daily life for you and your family.
? Fear of addiction to drugs. Research shows that the chance of people with chronic pain becoming addicted to pain-relieving drugs is extremely small. When taken properly for pain, drugs can relieve pain without addiction. Needing to take medication to control your pain is not addiction.
? Lack of awareness about pain therapy options. Be honest about how your pain feels and how it affects your life. Ask your doctor about the pain therapy options available to you. Often, if one therapy isn’t effectively controlling your pain, another therapy can.
? Fear of being perceived as “weak.” Some people believe that living stoically with pain is a sign of strength, while seeking help often is considered negative or weak. This perception prevents them seeking the best treatment with available therapies.
Management of Pain and side effects
You may experience acute pain due to your illness or after surgery. You do not need to put up with this pain, your health care team can work with you to prevent or control just about any kind of pain. A combination of pain control methods may be used to give you greater relief from pain.
Don’t let pain control you! Because there are many new ways to treat pain, it is important that you speak openly and honestly with your doctor or with a doctor who specializes in treating chronic pain.
Terry O’Brien
BackTrouble UK.
Links:
http://www.BackDoctor.org.uk
http://www.BackTrouble.co.uk
20 years in Gen Medicine with a keen interest in Back pain and Natural therapy!Launched Back Trouble UK early 2007 to promote more quality links and information on non invasive, natural therapy for people who are suffering with back pain and other related medical conditions.
Tags: Cancer, Controlling, Pain | Posted under Tips | No Comments
6 Steps to Manage Cancer Pain
Last Updated on Monday, 19 July 2010 07:38 Written by admin Monday, 19 July 2010 07:38
Once your pain management team is in place, you can work together to create a plan that anticipates every level of pain and institutes measures for alleviating it. Remember, the key to effective pain management is early intervention — and that starts with you. You need to inform your team when you’re hurting, where, and how much. This is why being able to talk with them comfortably and candidly is so important. (We’ve provided tools ahead that might help with this conversation.)
As you meet with your team members, you might want to share with them the following pain management model. It establishes a continuum of care to track with pain that ranges from mild to severe.
Complementary and alternative therapies: We recommend CAM therapies as a starting point because they are the least toxic. Your body will be exposed to plenty of toxins during cancer treatment; it doesn’t need more. Also, with CAM therapies, you spare your body from the side effects of yet another medication. Acupuncture, chiropractic, hypnosis, massage, and meditation are among the options that have proven successful in controlling pain.
Psychotropic drugs: Mediated via neurotransmitters, these medications help manage emotional distresses like depression and anxiety, both of which aggravate pain. Since scientists have determined that neurotransmitters inhabit the entire body, not just the brain, psychotropics have become some of the most frequently prescribed drugs for pain management.
Over-the-counter medications: Among the most common OTC pain relievers are acetaminophen and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as aspirin and ibuprofen. They may be enough to alleviate mild pain.
Low-dose opioids: Seventy to 90 percent of cancer patients control moderate pain with oral opioids such as Darvon, Percodan, and Percocet. The long-term use of these medications has not been shown to worsen pain. If that should happen in individual cases, the patients may be advised to switch to an opioid other than the one they have been using.
Slow-or fast-release opioids: Perhaps the best known of the opioids is morphine, which is sold under several brand names. It’s the most commonly prescribed medication for severe pain and is available in slow-or fast-release forms. Other slow-release opioids, which tend to have longer-lasting effects, include Fentanyl, Levorphanol, methadone, MS Contin, and Oramorph. In the fast-release category are codeine, hydromorphone, and oxycodone. When taken as prescribed, opioids — though quite potent — rarely lead to addiction.
Invasive procedures: For acute pain and some chronic pain, a nerve block can provide temporary relief. In this procedure, the physician injects a local anesthetic into or around nerves or below the skin at the site of pain. The anesthetic interrupts the transmission of pain signals to the brain, providing relief for up to several hours. In some instances where drug therapy is ineffective, the pain pathways may be redirected or severed through surgery or controlled with implanted devices.
Reprinted from: When It’s Cancer: The 10 Essential Steps to Follow After Your Diagnosis by Toni Bernay, PhD, and Saar Porrath, MD (March 2006; $15.95US/$22.95CAN; 1-57954-823-7) © 2006 Toni Bernay, PhD Permission granted by Rodale, Inc., Emmaus, PA 18098. Available wherever books are sold or directly from the publisher by calling (800) 848-4735 or visit their website at www.rodalestore.com.