Pain
Management for Mesothelioma & Lung Cancer Patients - Types of
Pain, Pain Control, Side Effects of Pain Medicines & How to
Administer Pain Medicines
(August 26th, 2008)
 Most lung
cancer patients fear the pain resulting from it, rather than the
cancer itself. Pain management theories were developed to help patients
control or minimize their pain while undergoing cancer treatments.
About 80% - 90% of cancer patients control their pain through a
combination of pain medicines & other exercises. In order to
successfully control pain from cancer, it is important to understand
where that pain originally derives from. Cancer pain occurs when
malignant tumors slide or press on internal organs such as bones,
nerves and the lymph nodes. The extent of pain also depends on the
location of the tumor and what organ it is pressing on. For example,
a small tumor pressing on a vital organ of the body such as the
lungs can cause lots of pain, while a large tumor elsewhere could
cause little pain. Pain also derives from cancer treatments including
surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Pain from these cancer
treatments has more chance of occuring in patients whose immune
system has been damaged as a result of these therapies. The 3rd
source of cancer pain derives from other common illnesses such as
headaches, pain in the kidneys, arthritis, muscle strains, etc.
Types of Cancer Pain
There are 3 most common types of pain resulting from Cancer. They
are:
i) Acute pain: Acute pain lasts a very short amount of time, but
can be very severe and comes as a surprise.
ii) Chronic pain: Chronic pain lasts over a long period of time
and can be mild to severe.
iii) Breakthrough pain: Breakthrough pain occurs in patients who
have chronic pain and can be controlled via cancer medicines.
Pain Control & Medicines
 The type of medicine
& proper dose procedure given to a cancer patient depends on
the extent of the cancer and its source. Below are a few types of
medicines that are given to cancer patients.
i) Mild to Moderate Pain: Nonopioids - Nonopioids are over-the-counter
medicines that can be purchased without a prescription. They include
drugs such as acetaminophen, aspirin, and ibuprofen. Be sure to
consult your doctor before using these medicines, especially if
you are already undergoing chemotherapy.
ii) Moderate to Severe Pain: Opioids - Opioids are types of drugs
that can be purchased with a prescription only. They can be used
in conjunction with nonopioids to lessen pain. Examples include
morphine, fentanyl, hydromorphone, oxycodone, meperidine, codeine,
and methadone.
iii) Breakthrough pain: Rapid-onset Opioids - These are drugs that
can quickly relieve sudden pain and are available by prescription
only. Examples include oral morphine. They can also be used to cure
persistent pain that pops up as a surprise.
Side Effects of Pain Medicines
 Most
cancer medicines have side effects that can affect different people
in different ways. Most side effects tend to occur in the first
few hours after initial treatment and will then gradually dissappear.
Since opioid drugs are most commonly used to treat cancer pain,
some of the most common side effects of these drugs are:
i) Sleepiness - Patients feel drowsy and sleepy when first taking
opioids, but this dissappears in 2-3 days. The image on the left
is of morhpine liquids that can be injected into the patient's body
via an intravenous injection. Like other opioids, this could cause
drowsiness or constipation for the patient.
ii) Constipation - Constipation stands for incomplete bowel movements
and the best way to avoid this is to drink plenty of fluids such
as water or juices and to eat fruits & vegetables. If constipation
does not dissappear after eating these healthy diets, a doctor could
suggest laxatives or stool softener.
iii) Nausea & vomitting - These side effects occur 1-2 days
after taking the cancer medicines and it is best to advise your
doctor immediately.
How to Administer Pain Medicines
 Pain
medicines can be dispatched in a variety of ways including orally
where the patient takes pills or capsules and swallows it through
the mouth, or a transdermal skin Patch that is placed on the skin
and continually releases medicines into the skin over 2-3 days.
The last way to dispatch medicines into the body is through injections.
Here are different ways of administering injections into the body.
i) Intravenous - Intravenous injections are placed directly into
a vein through needles. The image on the left shows an example of
this where radioactive albumin is injected directly into the veins
via an injection.
ii) Subcutaneous (SC) - Subcutaneous (SC) injections are placed
just under the skin using small needles
iii) Intrathecal and epidural - Intrathecal injections are placed
into fluids around the spinal cord while epidural injections are
placed into the space around the spinal cord.
iv) Pain pump - Depending on the amount of pain the patient is
in, a computerized pain medication pump can be activated by pushing
a button that releases a dose of pain medicine.
In conclusion, different types of pain medications will work better
on different people. You might need a different pain medicine or
a combinaton of multiple if your pain is not relieved, or if you
have breakthrough pain, undesirable side effects or uncontrollable
pain.
|
