Cancer and Healthy

Cancer pain may be acute or chronic. Acute pain generally results from tissue damage and is of limited duration. Once the cause of pain has been identified, it can be successfully managed. Chronic pain, on the other hand, is persistent - usually greater than three months in duration. Because the cause of chronic pain often cannot be altered, your nervous system will adapt, which may cause depression, anxiety and/or insomnia.

There is a system in put in place by your health team to help you deal with the pain and is split into diagnosis and treatment. In order to accurately treat the pain, the health professionals first need to know what is causing it. The severity and prevalence of pain you may experience depend on many factors, including the site and stage of your disease and the location of metastases. Cancer-related pain can result from both the disease process and treatment.

Pain affects each person differently, depending upon factors such as age, personality, perception, pain threshold and past experiences with pain. Psychological factors such as fear, worries or knowledge of impending death can also influence the effect of pain. Insomnia, fatigue and anxiety may lower the pain threshold, while rest, sleep and diversion can raise it.

There also needs to be a specific assessment done as well. A comprehensive assessment can include:

• Location
• Intensity
• Factors influencing its occurrence (e.g., what makes it better or worse)
• Observed behaviors during pain
• Psychosocial variables (i.e., attitudes, situational factors)
• Effects of pain
• Effects of therapy and patterns of coping.

Once this has been done, the team has a better understanding of what is working and what needs to be improved.