Pain can be caused by the cancer itself or by chemotherapy. Doctors and nurses have ways to decrease or relieve your pain
Talk about your pain with a doctor, nurse, or pharmacist. Be specific and describe:
- Where you feel pain. Is it in one part of your body or all over?
- What the pain feels like. Is it sharp, dull, or throbbing? Does it come and go, or is it steady?
- How strong the pain is. Describe it on a scale of 0 to 10
- How long the pain lasts. Does it last for a few minutes, an hour, or longer?
- What makes the pain better or worse. For instance, does an ice pack help? Or does the pain get worse if you move a certain way?
- Which medicines you take for pain. Do they help? How long do they last? How much do you take? How often?
- Let your family and friends know about your pain. They need to know about your pain so they can help you. If you are very tired or in a lot of pain, they can call your doctor or nurse for you. Knowing about your pain can also help them understand why you may be acting differently.
- Practice pain control
- Take your pain medicine on a regular schedule (by the clock) even when you are not in pain. This is very important when you have pain most of the time.
- Do not skip doses of your pain medicine. Pain is harder to control and manage if you wait until you are in a lot of pain before taking medicine.
- Try deep breathing, yoga, or other ways to relax. This can help reduce muscle tension, anxiety, and pain.
- Ask to meet with a pain or palliative care specialist. This can be an oncologist, anesthesiologist, neurologist, neurosurgeon, nurse, or pharmacist who will talk with you about ways to control your pain.
- Let your doctor, nurse, or pain specialist know if your pain changes. Your pain can change over the course of your treatment. When this happens, your pain medications may need to be changed.
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