Faced with a serious illness like mesothelioma, one of the things people fear most is the uncontrolled pain.
Today, health care providers have a much better understanding of pain and are well equipped with tools to help their patients manage their pain. When patients begin tuning their discomfort, it helps to disclose details ?? location and intensity of their pain - their health care team. It is a valuable tool for their physicians can use to more effectively manage the pain.
There are several reasons why someone with mesothelioma may experience pain. Surgical procedures can lead to post-operative pain. Chemotherapy can lead to bone pain and pain and tingling in the hands and feet, known as peripheral neuropathy.
treatmentradiation also can lead to painful skin irritation and burns. accumulation of fluid in the chest or abdomen creates tightness, pressure and shortness of breath.
Why do we feel pain?
The perception of pain in our bodies is called nociception.
We feel pain when the tissue damage is occurring or has occurred. Our brains interpret pain signals as something wrong in our body. The experience of pain is influenced by many physical and psychological factors. It is quite subjective in nature.
mesothelioma patients may experience pain as a direct result of the cancer itself or as a side effect of treatment. Understanding the location of their cancer and how different treatments affect their bodies can help them better express this pain to their doctors.
How does the pain affect patients with mesothelioma?
The experience of pain can one limit its activities, such as work, hobbies and chores. It is in human nature to avoid movements and activities that cause pain. If it hurts to swallow, we restrict our eating and drinking. If we feel pain when we walk because of bone or muscle pain, we tend to stay still. When an area is painful, our muscles around that area to contract and stiffen, causing even more pain.
Uncontrolled pain can affect our sleep patterns, too. When our brain receives signals of pain he is unable to go into "sleep" mode and go through all the necessary cycles of deep rest.
Studies have linked depression and anxiety to chronic pain. When the brain receives permanently pain signals, serotonin levels in the brain are impaired, contributing to clinical depression. Worrying when and if the pain will return or worsen, is stressful. Many patients with chronic pain have a coexisting anxiety disorder.
Communicate your pain
The first step in the management of pain is to understand and then communicate this experience to your health care team. Pain rating scales have been very useful to help patients and their health care teams understand and manage pain. Health care teams regularly ask most mesothelioma patients to rate their pain on a scale of zero (none) to 10 (intense). Doctors and Nurses have these notes in the medical records of their patients.
There are some useful tips to effectively communicate your pain to your doctors. Most patients feel unwell say, "Doc, I'm in pain ??. It's just too big. Your health care provider needs specific information to best manage your pain:
- Location :. Show your doctor exactly where the pain is located and where the pain moves
- When / How it started: Describe if the start was slow or sudden and events precipitated the episode
- Characteristics:. Explain the frequency, duration and intensity of pain using words like sweet, intense or severe. You can be more precise: Stabbing, stabbing and dull. Communicate the pain is not easy, which is why the pain assessment scales have been developed
- That Improves / aggravates the pain :. Describe if situations or events such as climate change, stress or lack of sleep reduce or increase your pain .
- Response activities: Tell your doctor what activities increase your pain and those that relieve. Some people find that prolonged sitting or standing can affect pain.
Log Your Pain
Keeping track of your pain on a daily basis is helpful. Your memory may not be as accurate when you are in your doctor's office trying to remember the details of what you felt.
There are a variety of newspapers specially adapted for tracking the pain that you can find on the Web, print and save your pain. I recommend the online pain diary by PartnersAgainstPain.com to track your pain daily.
Maximising Quality of life is very important while struggling against mesothelioma.
Mismanagement negative impact on pain quality of life in all patients cancers. Remember :. While you might not be in control of your pain, you are definitely in control of the understanding and communication of your discomfort to your health care team
This personal control amount will help you facing mesothelioma pain and do the best possible quality of life
questions and answers online support group in may
Q :. My doctor has the chemotherapy drug Navelbine (vinorelbine). I respond well and have minimal side effects. What is the average response in other mesothelioma patients
? A: Most mesothelioma patients respond well to Navelbine. The drug is known for its relatively low toxicity profile, which means that it tends to cause fewer side effects in patients. How the tumor responds to drugs depends if combined with another chemotherapy drug, and if it is to provide first-line or second-line chemotherapy. at an early stage mesothelioma tumors respond better to Navelbine as stage III or IV tumors.
However, a Danish study that combined vinorelbine with cisplatin as first-line treatment for stage III and IV mesothelioma patients reported an average response rate of 29.6 percent the median survival of 16.8 months and a survival rate at two years of 31 percent. Two tumor complete responses have been reported, which means that the tumors disappeared completely in two patients
Q :. If mesothelioma is found in the lymph nodes, the fact that limit treatment options
? A: Years ago the presence of mesothelioma in the lymph nodes tend to limit treatment options for patients. But this approach has changed in recent years. Today stage III patients qualify for surgery, which prolong the life aggressive more often than in the past. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy are also options for many patients with mesothelioma in lymph nodes
Q :. In addition to drugs against pain, what other options are available to reduce pain
? A: A number of techniques and therapies alongside medications that can help reduce pain in patients with mesothelioma. Many people find that a combination of different techniques with pain medication helps reduce the pain over with drugs alone. Some techniques include TENS therapy, distraction strategies (such as imagery or listening to favorite music), breathing techniques, yoga, acupuncture and herbal medicine.
This material was divided in May 14, 2014, mesothelioma online support group.
If you have questions Monitoring anything discussed here, you can call [[+phone]] to speak with Karen Selby, our nurse on staff.
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