Mesothelioma cancer can be associated with pain in different areas of the body affected by the cancer.These are important facts that every mesothelioma victim should know about mesothelioma pain:
1- Mesothelioma cancer pain can almost always be relieved or lessened.
You have a lot of treatment options to manage your pain,some of these methods include the use of pain relieving drugs,other medical methods and even non medical methods.Work with your medical team to find the best therapy to control your pain and give you as much comfort as possible.
You might also need to seek for extra help from some other medical experts apart from your doctor as pain control is an area that even most doctors have very little knowledge about. Even though a lot of progress has been made, some doctors and nurses do not know the best ways to treat cancer pain.
If you are still experiencing considerable pain after receiving all the treatment your doctor has to offer seek to see a pain specialist or have your doctor consult with a pain specialist. Pain specialists may be oncologists, anesthesiologists, neurologists, neurosurgeons, other doctors, nurses, or pharmacists. A pain control team may also include psychologists and social workers.
If you have trouble finding a pain program or pain specialist, contact a cancer center, a hospice, or the oncology department of your local hospital or medical center. They should be able to recommend someone to you.
2- Controlling your cancer pain is part of your cancer treatment.
Your doctor wants and needs to hear about what works for your pain and what does not. Knowing about the pain will help your doctor know more about how the cancer and the treatment are affecting your body. Talking about pain will not distract your doctor from treating the cancer.
3- Keeping pain from starting and keeping it from getting worse are the best ways to control it.
The best way to treat pain is to quickly nip the pain in the bud when it is still in its early stages. This is sometimes referred to as "staying on top of the pain" by some people. Do not wait at all and do not try to hold off as long as possible between doses. Pain may get worse if you wait. The worse the pain gets the longer the duration of treatment that will be needed to get relief and the higher the doses of pain killers that will be needed to bring the pain under control.
4- You have a right to ask for pain relief.
Talking about your pain is not a sign of weakness. Not everyone feels pain in the same way. There is no need to "tough it out" or be "brave" if you seem to have more pain than other people with the same kind of cancer. In fact, as soon as you have any pain you should speak up. Remember, it is easier to control pain right when it starts rather than waiting until after it becomes severe.
5- People who take cancer pain medicines the way the doctor or nurse tells them to rarely become addicted to them.
Addiction is a common fear of people taking pain medicine. Such fear may even keep people from taking the medicine. Or it may cause family members to encourage you to hold off as long as you can between doses.
Addiction is defined as uncontrollable drug craving, seeking, and continued use. When opioids (also known as narcotics) -- the strongest pain relievers available, are taken for pain, they rarely cause addiction as defined here. When you are ready to stop taking opioids, the doctor will lower the amount of medicine you are taking over a few days or weeks. By the time you stop using it completely, your body has had time to adjust. Talk to your doctor, nurse, or pharmacist about how to take pain medicines safely and about any concerns you have about addiction.
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