WHY BE PROACTIVE REGARDING CANCER PAIN MANAGEMENT?
Most physicians are not trained in pain management. Although the State of California passed a bill in 1997 requiring all physicians to have a minimum of 12 hours of pain management education, it is not due to go into full effect until 2007. As a group, oncologists are more pain-management savvy compared to their peers in other subspecialties. Nevertheless, in my experience they may know little about complementary and alternative techniques that show evidence of effectiveness in the medical literature. They also may delay seeking more aggressive pain-management techniques when the usual pain medications and combinations do not work well. Armed with a basic understanding of pain management concepts, patients with cancer will be better equipped to take advantage of the many pain-relieving modalities currently available. WHAT CAUSES CANCER PAIN? Generally, three things will cause pain in people with cancer: ยป The Cancer Itself. As a cancer grows, it can press on structures that cause pain.
