Controlling Cancer Pain

Dorothy123 · New User Joined: 22 Jan 2008 Posts: 6

Having cancer does not mean that you have to live with pain. Cancer and some of the treatments for it can cause pain. But most people who have cancer are able to manage their pain well.1

Key points

Cancer pain can be controlled. Only you know how you feel and how much pain you have. You need to learn how to tell your health care team what your pain feels like and what works and does not work.

Don't wait for pain to get bad. Your pain medicine will work best if you use it when you first notice pain, before it becomes bad.

You will not become addicted. The risk of becoming addicted is very small. Do not let this fear stop you from getting the pain relief you need.
Other conditions need treatment, too. Part of controlling your pain is treating conditions such as depression, anxiety, or sleep problems that can make your pain worse.

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cocojambo · New User Joined: 06 Jan 2008 Posts: 4

That is a nice piece of advise and article... To date, there are 3 types of pain:

i) Acute pain: Acute pain lasts a very short amount of time, but can be very severe and comes as a surprise.

ii) Chronic pain: Chronic pain lasts over a long period of time and can be mild to severe.

iii) Breakthrough pain: Breakthrough pain occurs in patients who have chronic pain and can be controlled via cancer medicines.
Source: http://www.themesotheliomalibrary.com

And there are 3 main types of over the counter medicines given to relieve patients off those pains:

i) Mild to Moderate Pain: Nonopioids - Nonopioids are over-the-counter medicines that can be purchased without a prescription. They include drugs such as acetaminophen, aspirin, and ibuprofen. Be sure to consult your doctor before using these medicines, especially if you are already undergoing chemotherapy.

ii) Moderate to Severe Pain: Opioids - Opioids are types of drugs that can be purchased with a prescription only. They can be used in conjunction with nonopioids to lessen pain. Examples include morphine, fentanyl, hydromorphone, oxycodone, meperidine, codeine, and methadone.

iii) Breakthrough pain: Rapid-onset Opioids - These are drugs that can quickly relieve sudden pain and are available by prescription only. Examples include oral morphine. They can also be used to cure persistent pain that pops up as a surprise.

Hope that is useful for all patients suffering from lung cancer

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