AFTER CANCER: MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT PAIN
Is It Important to Treat Chronic Mild Pain?
It is vital that chronic pain be evaluated and treated. Most people can withstand severe pain for a short-while, especially if they know that it will end. The effect of chronic pain is different from that of acute (short-term) pain. Even mild pain depletes your physical and emotional reserves and can cause you to feel tired, irritable, and depressed. Sleep can be disturbed, which often intensifies your perception of pain. Pain extracts a psychological toll by reminding you of your cancer experience, keeping your fears and anxieties close to the surface, and making it more difficult for you to deal with everything.
Is Pain Ever Expected after Cancer Treatment?
Many conditions (such as a bone fracture) and treatments (such as surgery) are expected to cause pain. However, just because pain is an expected normal aftereffect it does not mean it should go untreated. Pain should be evaluated thoroughly, its cause determined, and the best treatment found. Medications can be prescribed when indicated. Nonpharmacological measures for pain control can be pursued.
If I Have Pain, Do I Have to Report It at My Checkups?
Absolutely. Pain is a subjective phenomenon. Your doctor will not know how much pain you have by your exam or test results. Your doctor can assess and treat your pain only if you tell him or her about it.
A retired teacher presented herself graciously at her checkups. Well groomed and always smiling, she focused on her progress. Her doctor, satisfied with her normal exam and test results, reassured her that she was indeed doing beautifully. She never gave her doctor a clue that she had nighttime pain that interfered with sleep and fed her unvoiced anxiety. It was only when the woman’s daughter called the doctor to discuss the problem that it was addressed.
Your doctors can help you with a problem only if you tell them about it.
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Tags: Cancer