Cancer pain can include pain that is felt before cancer has been diagnosed, while it is being treated, while it is in advanced stages, and even after the cancer has gone into remission. Cancer pain can occur in any part of the body and is always the result of the cancer taking over different systems within the body. The nervous system is the only system that is responsible for the cancer pain that is being felt in the body – it recognizes that there is something wrong and works to signal to the brain that there is something amiss.
Cancer Signs
Around 70 to 90 percent of individuals who have cancer in advanced stages will feel pain as a result of the cancer. This pain can be anything from small twinges to debilitating stabbing pains in the area that the cancer is in. Often, these pains are among the only ways that people who are suffering from internal cancers can recognize that there is truly a problem within their body.
Cancer Pain During Treatment
Between 30 and 50 percent of those who are undergoing treatment will feel pain that is related to cancer in some part of their body. Most often, this pain is felt in the same area that the cancer is in. It can be mild or extreme and it may become reduced as the treatment progresses and the cancer is more greatly eliminated. When there is pain during the treatment of cancer, it can be uncomfortable on top of the side effects that accompany the cancer treatment.
Post-Cancer Pain
When cancer is in the body, it can change the way that the body processes certain things. It can push on the nerves and send false signals to the brain. When the cancer has been eliminated, the nerves may still be affected by the damage that the cancer has done to them. The pain can last for a long period of time, even after the cancerous cells have been killed.
Relieving Pain
Patients who are experiencing cancer pain can take different approaches to reduce the amount of pain. The best approach is to get rid of the cancer that is causing the nervous system to send signals of pain to the brain. Pain medications, injections, and therapy methods may also be used to treat the pain and block nerve signals. Since treatment of cancer can sometimes be difficult, the pain medications may be able to help with other symptoms that come along with treatment.