WPI Public Resources

8 Facts Everyone Should Know About Cancer Pain
	Fears:	Facts:
1.	Cancer causes intolerable pain which cannot be relieved	Some patients with cancer never have pain. For those that do, cancer pain CAN be relieved
2.	Patients who use narcotics will become addicted	patients who take narcotics for pain rarely, if ever, become addicted
3.	Of strong medication like morphine are used too soon,they will not work later if the pain gets worse	Strong medications like morphine tay effective as long as they are needed. If pain increases, the medication dose can also be increased as much as needed.
4.	Strong pain medications, such as narcotics, have unpleasant side effects	The most common side effects are feeling sleepy, nausea and constipation. Sleepiness and nausea go away after a few days. Simple treatments can control nausea and constipation.
5.	Complaining about pain means you are not a good patient	Doctors and nurses must know about all of a patient's symptoms, including pain, in order to give good care.
6.	Talking about pain will distract the doctor from working to treat the cancer	Pain relief is an important part of cancer care. Pain can interfere with sleep and rest, which are important to the body's ability to fight disease.
7.	Pain means that the cancer is getting worse	Pain can be due to cancer or the effects of cancer treatment. Sometimes the pain is unrelated to the cancer.
8.	Shots will be needed to control cancer pain	At least 9O% of cancer pain can be effectively relieved by simple medications that are taken by mouth. Other treatments can help the rest. Shots are almost never necessary.