What is cancer pain?
Not everyone diagnosed with cancer will experience pain. Furthermore, it is critical that you work with a cancer specialist (oncologist, medical doctor) to receive care for your cancer, as proper cancer therapy can save your life and also improve pain control.
30% of people with cancer do report pain that maybe related to their cancer. This pain can be short term that can occur due to surgery or chronic and require continuous treatment. This pain maybe secondary to the cancer itself as it can cause compression to surrounding nerves or structures resulting in pain. Cancer that involves bone or has spread to bone can also cause pain. Furthermore, pain can occur secondary to cancer therapy, such as after surgery pain, pain secondary to radiation or chemotherapy.
Potential symptoms that you may experience with this condition:
- Dull pain at the site of cancer
- Nerve pain described burning, numbness and tingling that can be seen after chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
- Fatigue
Treatment options for this condition:
- The most critical and important treatment is to pursue the treatment for your cancer as the primary priority. If cancer is not treated by a cancer specialist this can shorten your life span for certain subsets of cancers.
- Post-operative therapy medicaitons
- Nerve blocks: i.e Celiac plexus block for Pancreatic cancer
- Physical therapy
- Intrathecal pain therapy
