Pain associated with cancer or its treatment is often treatable. Such pain can have an impact on quality of life, regardless of the cause of pain, like cancer itself, medical treatments like chemotherapy or surgery, or other associated conditions. Thankfully, a variety of efficient choices for treating cancer-related pain are available in supportive care and medication. Receive optimal pain management in Siliguri under one of the leading cancer specialists in the region.
These six pain management techniques may help cancer patients find comfort and relief.
Medications, As the First Line of Protection
The primary care for cancer pain therapy is usually pain medication. Based on the intensity of pain, cancer specialists personalize the treatment (medication use), such as:
- Non-opioids such as acetaminophen or NSAIDs (such as ibuprofen) can be used to treat mild pain.
- Weak opioids like tramadol, codeine, or tramadol for moderate pain
- Strong opioids such as oxycodone, fentanyl, or morphine can cause severe pain.
To treat nerve-related pain, doctors may also give adjuvant medications such as antidepressants or anticonvulsants.
Injections and Nerve Blocks
To stop pain signals from reaching the brain, a medical expert will inject an anesthetic close to a nerve or group of nerves. Nerve blocks can provide focused pain relief for localized pain that oral drugs are unable to sufficiently treat.
To do this, a tiny needle is placed through the skin into the ganglion, or bundle of nerve fibers, that is the cause of pain. Then, certain chemicals like phenol are administered to kill the nerves in this area. Neurolytic nerve block destroys the pain-producing nerve terminals to treat pain related to advanced cancer stages. If your pain is hard to manage, your doctor may recommend a nerve block.
Muscle Relaxants
To assist in managing your cancer-related pain, muscle relaxants can be of great help. They are used with other medications. Muscles may occasionally become more taut following surgery or certain treatments like radiation therapy or chemotherapy.
If your muscles spasm, especially if you have bladder cancer, or if you have cancer in your spine that is causing discomfort, muscle relaxant medications may help. These meds may include oxybutynin, baclofen, hyoscine, diazepam, etc. Receive expert advice from Dr. Saptarshi Ghosh for cancer pain Management in Siliguri.
Steroid injections
Your body naturally produces steroids through the adrenal glands. These hormones aid in controlling your body's response to injury or infection. When the body is unable to produce its own corticosteroids, medical experts in medicine utilize synthetic ones, known as steroid replacement.
Besides the use of creams and medications, steroids can be taken in the form of injections. They have a dynamic use of steroids in cancer treatment, which helps with pain management and fatigue control as well.
Spinal Cord Stimulation
In order to manage pain, spinal cord stimulation (SCS) uses electrodes applied to the spinal cord. Impulses from the electrodes may effectively reduce discomfort.
This procedure, compared to medications used to treat pain, seems to have very few adverse effects, such as fatigue. In cases with unresponsive cancer pain, spinal cord stimulation is becoming a more popular pain management option. However, we need more studies to understand the effectiveness of SCS in cancer pain relief.
Intrathecal Drug Delivery
Patients with cancer-related ongoing pain can benefit from intrathecal medication administration under expert supervision. Through a direct, continuous infusion of medicine into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), intrathecal drug delivery (IDD) is a technique that produces analgesia.
Intrathecal analgesia is a well-liked alternative for cancer patients or those with chronic pain. Drugs delivered into the intrathecal space offer greater analgesia at lower dosages, reducing adverse effects and greatly enhancing quality of life.
Now, pain management for cancer patients necessitates a patient-centric strategy. Every patient has a unique pain experience; therefore, finding the most suitable therapies requires open discussion with healthcare experts. Get the best recommendations for palliative & pain management in Siliguri from the top oncologists.
