Pain Management Issues

simplyklb · Posted: Mon May 05, 2008 7:03 pm Post subject: Pain Management Issues

My dad is in the process of getting diagnosed with lung cancer. I know he has a lot of pain in his back. He has had steady pain since last Sat./Sun. His primary care physician prescribed some pain meds but they did not seem to help. When he went to the pulmonary specialist last week, he was prescribed some other medication. Today he had pain that would not quit. We contacted the pulmonary specialist's office who told us that we needed to contact the primary care physician for pain control. Once my dad is officially diagnosed, who is going to handle pain management? Will it be the oncologist or the primary care physician?

Thanks,
Kristi

Sasha · Regular Joined: 04 Mar 2008 Posts: 45

I think the oncologist would, but my dad is going to cancer treatment centers of america and they did pain control the first day, he was basically sadated for the first month because he was so bad.
Sasha

brainman · Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 11:14 am Post subject: Re: Pain Management Issues

Kristi, first, I am very sorry about your father's possible cancer. I am not sure how much you already know but a good place to start for general information is the National Cancer Institutes website at http://cancer.gov .

Now to your question: It really dependent on the relationship between your multiple doctors. Sasha's father goes to an institution where they have a multi-disciplinary team who combine their efforts to deal with any issues. Most of us have to deal with independent doctors who have varying degrees of relationships to each other. In most cases, your father's primary doctor will hand off all cancer related issues to his oncologist. If your father has surgery, it would not be unheard of for his oncologist to temporarily hand off all cancer related issues to his surgeon.

My surgeon does not live locally; my oncologist does. So when my surgeon started to make plans for followup treatments, I asked him if my oncologist could not handle that phase. My surgeon was very understanding and made sure that my oncologist had all my information and they coordinate my post surgery treatments, tests, and medications to this day.

Long explanation for a very short answer: My guess is that your father's oncologist will be responsible to make sure that your father is pain free... at least for the present.
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Site Administrator and long-term cancer survivor
1992 Astrocytoma grade 2, left motor strip
2005 Recurrence this time said to be an Oligodendoglioma grade 3, same location.
My Story Part 1: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?p=7350
My Story Part 2: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=8029
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simplyklb · Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 11:33 am Post subject: Re: Pain Management Issues

Since I don't know the exact type of lung cancer my dad has, I just go thru the general websites. Yes, I have the NIH's cancer website in my bookmarks. I hope that we get the biopsy results later today so I can research the type of lung cancer he has. Lots f people waiting for the results as well.

My dad will be going to a hospital here that has a large oncology department. His care will be centered at one place. I am sure that the care will be coordinated with all involved. I was asking the question last night because he had the bad pain and was wondering down the road who would handle it.

Kristi

brainman · Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 1:22 pm Post subject: Re: Pain Management Issues

Down the road his oncologist will most likely handle any pain caused by cancer. Further down the road, after his oncologist has done all he can do for your father, his primary doctor will take over pain management... maybe even referring your father to a doctor who specializes in pain management. There are just too many variables to know for sure who will be responsible for pain management.
_________________
Jim
Site Administrator and long-term cancer survivor
1992 Astrocytoma grade 2, left motor strip
2005 Recurrence this time said to be an Oligodendoglioma grade 3, same location.
My Story Part 1: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?p=7350
My Story Part 2: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=8029
Blog http://jimhawkinsport.blogspot.com/

pbj11 · Site Admin Joined: 12 May 2007 Posts: 803

Kristi,

Just dropping in to say how sorry I am that your Dad is having pain issues. They may go for radiation to alleviate the pain, once the diagnosis is formalized. Often that will help with the pain, but until then he should be made comfortable. It's bad enough to do this waiting and worrying without the addition of pain.

My heart goes out to you and your family.

Hugs,
PBJ
_________________
Husband diagnosed with NSCLC Stage IV. (Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer) Fought & lived 2 1/2 years with multiple lines of treatment.

Post describing our battle: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=7026&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

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