“Don’t let pain define you, let it refine you. You are a warrior & warriors don’t quit. Cancer is just one chapter in your life, not the whole story.”

Not everyone with cancer has cancer pain, but some do. If you have cancer that’s spread or repeated, your chance of having pain is higher. Most cancer pain is caused by the tumor pressing on bones, nerves, or other organs in the body.

Sometimes the pain is due to your cancer treatment. For example, some chemotherapy drugs can cause numbness and tingle in your hands and feet. or they might cause a burning sensation at the spot where you have the drug injection & Radiotherapy can cause skin redness and irritation.

Keep in mind that most cancer pain is manageable and that controlling your pain is essential to your treatment.

Type of Cancer Pain

Cancer pain takes many forms. It can be dull, achy, sharp, or burning. It can be constant, irregular, mild, moderate, or severe. How much pain you feel depends on a number of factors, including the type of cancer that you have, how advanced it is, where it’s situated, and your pain tolerance.

Dr. Shovan Kumar Rath, Pain and Palliative care specialist in Bhubaneswar can help you in better management of your cancer pain.

Nerve Pain

Nerve pain is also called neuropathic pain. It’s caused by pressure on nerves or the spinal cord, or by damage to the nerves.

People often describe nerve pain as burning, shooting, tingling or a feeling of crawling under their skin. It can be difficult to describe exactly how it feels. Nerve pain can sometimes be more difficult to treat than other types of pain.

Bone pain

Cancer can spread into the bone and cause pain by damaging the bone tissue. The cancer can affect one specific area of bone or several areas.

You might also hear bone pain called somatic pain. People often describe this type of pain as aching, dull or throbbing.

Soft Tissue Pain

Soft tissue pain means pain from a body organ or muscle. For example, you might have pain in your back caused by tissue damage to the kidney.

You can’t always pinpoint this pain, but it is usually described as sharp, cramping, aching, or throbbing. Soft tissue pain is also called visceral pain.

Phantom Pain

Phantom pain means pain in a part of the body that has been removed. An example is pain in the breast area after removal of the breast (mastectomy).

Phantom pain is very real and people sometimes describe it as unbearable.

You’re the only one who knows how cancer pain feels in your body. You’ll want to understand it, know how to communicate about it, and get the relief you need to live your life.

Some people worry that pain medication is addictive or will make them sleepy or dizzy. But there are many ways to manage and treat cancer pain, including medications and methods that don’t use medication, like minimally invasive pain interventions, and many more. Communicate with your doctor to find the best treatment for your pain. We at Pain Free Odisha are committed to taking care of all pain.