Online Guide to Breakthrough Cancer Pain

Having cancer can put you and your family on a difficult—often unpredictable—emotional journey. It also takes a physical and mental toll. But managing the symptoms of cancer and its treatment, including pain, fatigue, nausea, depression, and problems with sexuality, is an important part of your overall cancer care.

In particular, unrelieved pain can:

• limit your ability to work, sleep, exercise or perform everyday tasks (for example, dressing, going to the grocery store)
• lower your self-esteem and sense of purpose
• lead to feelings of depression and isolation
• place added strain on your relationships
• result in more persistent pain in the future
• cause psychological distress which, if not addressed, may lower treatment adherence and result in poorer treatment outcomes
• interfere with your cancer care (for example, being able to position your body or stay still during radiation therapy, your ability to heal and/or cope with other aspects of your cancer)

So, making sure your pain is being properly addressed is an important part of your treatment plan.

APF has developed this practical online toolkit to increase awareness of cancer pain and, specifically breakthrough cancer pain, among people with cancer, survivors and caregivers, and to encourage patients to talk with their healthcare providers about cancer pain and advocate for quality symptom management.

This new resource includes the following helpful articles and tips:

• The Basics of Breakthrough Cancer Pain 
• Facing Your Fears: Making Pain Management Part of Your Cancer Care
• Beyond Medicine
• Talking with Your Cancer Treatment Team
• Commonly Asked Questions & Answers
• Resources
• Breakthrough Cancer Pain Topic Brief
• Breakthrough Cancer Pain Fact Sheet
• Breakthrough Cancer Pain Survey: Fact Sheet
• Breakthrough Cancer Pain Survey: Executive Summary

Please check back for updates to this online guide. As always, please let us know what you think about our publications by sending an email to Publications.

The content of the online guide to breakthrough cancer pain was produced by the American Pain Foundation which is solely responsible for the content, and maintains editorial control of all materials and publications they produce. These materials were made possible with support from Meda Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

 

Last Updated: 02/26/10