CANCER PAIN MANAGEMENT

CANCER PAIN MANAGEMENT



TEAMWORK IS THE KEY!


Not everyone with cancer has pain. Those who do know that pain can affect you in many ways. It can keep you from being active, sleeping, eating, and enjoying life. It can make you depressed. We will work with you as a TEAM to control your pain.


It is very important for you to talk to us about your pain. We will need to know things about your pain, such as:



• On scale of 1-10 (10 being the worst pain), how do you rate your pain?


• What are you taking for pain now?


• After taking your pain medications, how do you rate your pain?


• What makes it worse?


• What makes it better?


• Describe your pain.


• Where is it located? Does it travel anywhere else?


• Do you have any other symptoms?


• Are there certain times it is better or worse?


• Sometimes it is helpful to keep a pain journal. We will give you one to fill out if this would be helpful.


We need YOU to tell us about your fears or concerns you have about medication or your treatment. You are the biggest part of our TEAM!



WHAT IS CHRONIC PAIN?


Chronic pain is pain that lasts longer than 6 months. It doesn’t have a purpose, like when you touch your hand on a hot stove and it hurts so that you will stop touching the stove. You may not have many physical symptoms of pain like raised blood pressure or elevated pulse, but you may see more symptoms like depression, trouble sleeping, or mood swings.



WHAT CAUSES MY PAIN?


There can be many causes of chronic pain. Most cancer pain comes when a tumor presses on a bone, nerve, or body organ. Cancer treatments sometimes can cause pain too. There are also other types of pain that have nothing to do with your illness. You can get headaches, muscle strains, arthritis pain, and other pains, just like anyone else.



HOW WILL YOU TREAT MY PAIN?


Chronic pain is usually treated with medicine. But sometimes surgery, radiation therapy, and other treatments may be used along with medicines to give better pain relief. There are many types of pain medicines. Ask us if you have any questions about your particular medication. Here are several types of pain medications:


Nonopiods: Acetaminophen and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as aspirin and ibuprofen. These are drugs such as Tylenol, aspirin, Motrin, Naprosyn, and others. Some of these you can buy without a prescription (over the counter).


Opioids: These include morphine, hydromorphone, oxycodone, codeine, Lortab, Tylenol #3, Percocet, Dilaudid, MS Contin, Darvocet, morphine sulfate, fentanyl, Avinza, Kadian, OxyContin and others. You must have a prescription for these medications, and most of these cannot be called into your drug store because they are federally regulated. If you are unable to pick up your prescriptions yourself, whoever picks up the prescription must present his or her driver’s license for identification purposes and a copy will be made for our records.


Antidepressants: Amitriptyline, imipramine, doxepin, Trazone, Elavil, Desyrel, Sinequan, and others. A prescription will be required for these medications. If you are taking one of these medications, it does not necessarily mean that you are depressed or have a mental illness. These medications may be useful for tingling or burning pains (nerve pains).


Antiseizure medications: These might include Dilantin or Tegretol or others. You will need a prescription for these medications. Taking these medications does not mean that you could have a seizure. These medications work well for nerve pain also.


Steroids: Prednisone, Decadron, and others may be useful for controlling pain caused by swelling or infection. You will need a prescription for these medications.

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Mar 1, 2017 | Posted by in NURSING | Comments Off on CANCER PAIN MANAGEMENT

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