In most healthcare settings primarily in oncology care units, the patients being taken care of here are usually faced with a myriad of treatment and post-treatment problems which compromises their state of wellbeing. The fact that these patients are under intense cancer treatment process makes them experience a lot of pain which in most cases compromises the quality of their life (Ripamonti et al., 2012). Individuals battling this condition are usually affected by the pain which is influenced by different factors like physical, emotional or environmental. These factors have been established to affect the nervous system of the body either directly or indirectly. There is the need for controlling such pain since if left unattended to; it is likely to result in undesirable outcomes on the patient like changes in the daily activities of the patient, loss of bodily functioning and depression.
Cancer pain is usually caused by a number of factors including a fracture in the event Cancer extends to bodily bones, tumor growths pressing on bone, nerves, organs, chemotherapy side effects, compromised blood circulation due to blockages in blood vessels, inflammations, and infections, poor posture and muscles stiffening due to inactivity or tension (Caraceni et al., 2012). The different types of pain emanating from cancer treatment may entail acute, chronic, breakthrough, nerve and bone pains. Acute pain is experienced when there are instances of bodily straining. Such pain lasts for a short period of time in most cases. Chronic pain in most cases may result from tissues getting damaged and may last for more than three months in most cases. Breakthrough pain is the one that still occurs even after the patient has taken the required medication to address it. In most cases, it is brought about by the patient not receiving sufficient dosages of the required medication (Caraceni et al., 2012). Nerve pain, on the other hand, is brought about by some of the body nerves being compromised in terms of their functionality. Such pain is in most cases intermittent. Most patients experiencing such pain usually describe it as having a burning or tingling sensation. Finally, bone pain is brought about by the cancer effects spreading to the bones thus damaging them. In most cases, such pain is perceived as dull, aching or throbbing. Persons experiencing this form of pain usually perceive it more during the night.
Normally, individuals who are suffering from this pain usually go through a lot of both physical and emotional problems which usually affect the way they carry out their daily activities. Emotionally, these patients may experience feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, embarrassment, isolation and easily irritable. In terms of the environment, such pains are usually increased in the event that a person is faced with issues like noises which destabilize their emotional stands (Ripamonti et al., 2012). Additionally, extended periods of pain leads to the patient experiencing extreme tiredness since different cancer patients have got different coping levels. Therefore, in most instances, such a patient usually ends up experiencing undesirable outcomes in regards to the management of their condition.
Therefore, there is the need to have in place measures which will effectively put caps on the problem that these persons go through. To this effect, therefore, some of the methodologies which can be used in addressing the pain may include surgeries, chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Medications can also be applied mostly in the instance where the pain is either mild or severe. In this case, such medications may include traditional analgesics like opioids which can be applied subcutaneously or intramuscularly (Ripamonti et al., 2012). Alternatively, the medication may be taken through the mouth if they come in form of tablets. Taking them orally is the most convenient method as it dissolves quickly and is also painless (Mercadante, 2012). Finally, there are other non-medicinal methods which can be employed in the process like breathing exercises, relaxation techniques and massage therapy. All these efforts are aimed at addressing the problems brought about by cancer pain. However, the use of massage therapy in managing this pain has been proven to be the most effective in comparison to the use of traditional analgesics since body massages do not have any undesirable side effects to the patient.
References
Caraceni, A., Hanks, G., Kaasa, S., Bennett, M. I., Brunelli, C., Cherny, N., & Haugen, D. F. (2012). Use of opioid analgesics in the treatment of cancer pain: evidence-based recommendations from the EAPC. The lancet oncology,13(2), e58-e68.
Duke, G., Haas, B. K., Yarbrough, S., & Northam, S. (2013). Pain management knowledge and attitudes of baccalaureate nursing students and faculty. Pain Management Nursing, 14(1), 11-19.
Mercadante, S. (2012). Pharmacotherapy for breakthrough cancer pain. Drugs,72(2), 181-190.
Ripamonti, C. I., Santini, D., Maranzano, E., Berti, M., Roila, F., & ESMO Guidelines Working Group. (2012). Management of cancer pain: ESMO clinical practice guidelines. Annals of oncology, 23(suppl 7), vii139-vii154.
