What treatments does cancer pain management include?
Your cancer pain management plan takes into account the location and severity of your pain, as well as the type of cancer you have.
The University Pain and Spine Center team offers several treatment options to ease pain, so you can continue with your recovery. Your treatment plan may include:
- Nerve blocks
- Steroid injections
- Cold laser therapy
- Anti-inflammatory medications
- Prescription pain relievers
Spinal cord stimulation is also available to manage pain from cancer. This involves implanting small electrodes into your spine that deliver low currents of electricity into nerves. The device allows you to control the currents with an external remote to disrupt pain signals from traveling to your brain.
If you have chronic pain from a tumor pressing on your nerves, you may need surgery to remove all or part of the tumor. Following surgery, your University Pain and Spine Center physician can provide additional pain management services during your recovery.
If you need help managing persistent cancer pain, call the University Pain and Spine Center office nearest you or schedule a consultation through the online booking system today.
What does cancer pain feel like?
Cancer pain can range from occasional and mild to severe and chronic. You may feel pain in just the area of the tumor or experience pain and other symptoms that radiate into other areas of your body.
Cancer pain may feel like a throbbing or stabbing sensation. You can also experience a tingling or burning pain near the tumor or throughout your extremities.
Chronic cancer pain can interfere with your recovery from cancer treatments and also has an impact on your physical and mental well-being. When home care isn’t enough to relieve cancer pain, schedule a consultation with the pain management specialists at the University Pain and Spine Center.
How does cancer cause pain?
Cancer is a complex disease that causes cells in your body to divide continually and spread into the nearby tissues. Because cancer can develop anywhere in your body, there are many types of known cancers that can cause pain and other uncomfortable symptoms.
Not everyone with cancer experiences pain, but those that do may have pain severe enough to affect their quality of life. This pain may originate from a tumor that presses on nearby nerves, organs, or bone.
You can develop pain due to cancer treatments like chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery. These treatments also suppress your immune system and may leave you susceptible to developing other painful conditions.