Did you know that nearly half of cancer patients experience pain? Cancer pain may be a symptom that needs to be diagnosed, and it often varies with the type and stages of cancer, other health problems, medicine being taken, personal response to pain, or due to other personal lifestyle habits. However, with the right strategies this pain can be managed properly. Learn some best tips to manage cancer pain for patients and caregivers in this article.
Tips to manage cancer pain for patients and caregivers
Several strategies can help manage your cancer pain better, including:
- Pain assessment:
This is the first step you or your caregiver should take; assessing your pain with the help of your doctor and care team. When you describe your pain to your cancer care team, they’ll give you details you should know about. They’ll help you know the type of pain you have, where it is, how bad it is, and how it may affect your life and daily activities. When you know the necessary details about your cancer pain, you and your doctor can make a plan for how to handle the pain.
- Keep a record of your pain:
Keeping a record of your pain is helpful to understand what helps you ease it. You can also share this record with your caregivers to understand how they can help you to manage the pain. You can include these points in your records such as:
- Describe your pain as sharp, dull, throbbing, gnawing, burning, shooting, steady.
- Things that make the pain better or worse.
- Activity you can’t do due to pain.
- The name, dose, or time you take your pain medications.
- The times you use other pain relief methods like relaxation techniques, distraction, or imagery therapy.
- Rate the number of your pain; without and at the time you use a pain-relief measure either medication or method to reduce pain.
- Your pain rating throughout the day to understand the idea of general comfort.
- How pain interferes with normal activities, such as sleeping, eating, sex, or work.
- Any side effects you experience due to medications.
- Have supplies to manage side effects:
This is a very crucial role for a cancer caregiver to offer basic medical care at home, to know what might come in handy. Every cancer patient’s experience is different, so different medications have been used which cause different side effects based on people responding to the medications. So, to manage those side effects, you should talk to a doctor to understand what specific treatments your loved ones are getting and what side effects you should expect. Some of the common cancer treatment side effects are:
- Fatigue
- Nausea and vomiting
- Digestive issues such as constipation and diarrhea
- Appetite loss
- Hair loss
- Skin and nail changes
- Pain
You should gather supplies that might be needed to manage these side effects ahead of time. Most doctors recommend patients or caregivers to have anti-nausea prescriptions filled before the patient’s first treatment, so these medications can be used when they need them. Mostly these side effects don’t occur right away, but it is good to have medications ready when this occurs. It is also recommended to have over-the-counter laxatives and antidiarrheals on hand, in case digestive issues arise. Do the same with pain relievers for any pain that occurs to your loved ones.
- Don’t wait to report alarming symptoms:
Both cancer and cancer treatment can weaken the immune system which increases the risk of getting sick easily due to an infection. That’s why as a caregiver you should take steps to protect your loved ones from common respiratory illnesses like colds, flu, and COVID-19 by ensuring they stay up to date with vaccinations, maintain good hygiene, and avoid people who are sick.
Foodborne illness is also a major concern, so you should ensure the food is properly handled or cooked. You should also keep a thermometer handy to notice fevers right away because it is a common sign of infection. If the symptoms are severe, going to the emergency room as soon as possible is recommended. Signs of severe infection are:
- Fever higher than 100.4 degrees F
- Difficulty breathing
- Constant vomiting
- Bloody diarrhea
- Confusion or disorientation
- Inability to stay awake
- Dehydration often causes signs of weakness, dizziness, or lightheadedness when standing.
- Make the most of your cancer pain control plan:
Several things can help you ensure your pain control plan works well:
- Take pain medicine on time, not just when you’re experiencing pain. This way you can control chronic pain.
- Don’t skip doses on your scheduled medicine. The more pain you have, the harder it will become to control it.
- Use your short-acting breakthrough pain medicine as prescribed. Don’t wait for the pain to get worse because later it is difficult to control.
- Make sure you take pain medicine prescribed by one doctor. If another doctor changes the medicine, the doctors need to discuss your treatment with each other to avoid unnecessary medicine interactions or side effects.
- Keep your pain medicine in reserve. Remember that written prescriptions are needed to get almost all pain medicines from drugstores, and they don’t always have them in stock. It can take a few days to get the medicine, so give yourself time for delays. Sometimes you may need to have a prescription from the doctor to get the medicine in person from the pharmacy.
- Keep pain medicines stored safely away from children, pets, and others who might take them accidentally.
- Never take anyone else’s pain medicine because it might not be right for you.
- Don’t use old pain medicine or medicine left over from other prescriptions because it might not work the same as it did in the past and may lead to side effects. Always use new (and not expired) medicine to treat your pain.
Managing cancer pain is exceedingly difficult for some people because cancer makes the body weak and different treatments to manage the condition also take a toll on the person. However, if pain is not managed timely, it can be severe. Following the above-mentioned tips for managing cancer pain can be helpful for patients and caregivers to take timely action to manage pain and improve their life quality.
If you need help with cancer pain, visit our pain management clinic in Brooklyn to get professional medical help. Call us to book your appointment now to get the pain management treatment you deserve!!!! If your pain needs professional assistance, visit our pain management clinic in Brooklyn today or call to get a consultation. The location at 1797 Pitkin Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11212 is well-served by public transportation, including many bus routes, and the subway line. Visit our website at https://doralhw.org/department/pain-management/ or contact us on +1-718-367-2555 for additional details.
