Brain Cancer Treatments – Pain Management

Pain Management for Brain Cancer

During the course of the disease, many patients with advanced brain cancer may experience some level of pain. The care team at Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) is acutely aware that when left untreated, cancer-related pain can significantly diminish your quality of life. Our pain management team provides a variety of therapeutic approaches to help relieve your pain so you can cope better during brain cancer treatment.

Pain Classifications

Cancer pain may be classified as either acute or chronic. Acute pain is often the result of tissue damage and is of limited duration. It differs from chronic pain because it is easier to identify and successfully manage. Chronic pain, on the other hand, is persistent and usually lasts for greater than three months. Because the cause of chronic pain often cannot be altered, the nervous system may adapt, which may in turn cause depression, anxiety and/or insomnia.

Causes of Cancer Pain

Cancer-related pain can result from the disease process itself and from the treatment process. Each person experiences pain differently. The severity and prevalence of your pain depends on many factors, including the site and stage of the brain cancer, as well as your age, personality, perception, pain threshold, and past experiences with pain. In addition, psychological factors, such as fear, can influence pain. Insomnia, fatigue and anxiety may lower the pain threshold, while rest, sleep and diversion can raise it.

Cancer Pain Assessment

An accurate assessment of your pain experience helps your CTCA care team determine which pain management techniques will be best suited to your needs. To make an assessment, the pain management team may examine any of the following dimensions of your pain:

• Location
• Intensity
• Factors influencing its occurrence (i.e., what makes it better or worse)
• Observed behaviors during pain
• Psychosocial variables (e.g., attitudes, situational factors)
• Effects of therapy and patterns of coping

Cancer Pain Management

The goal of pain management during brain cancer treatment is to not only provide pain relief, but also to help you maintain your normal quality of life. At CTCA, your care team will incorporate various pain management techniques into your brain cancer treatment plan. All methods of pain management attempt to either control the cause of the pain or alter your perception of it.

Although there are many different pain management techniques, therapeutic approaches can be classified as either pharmacological or non-pharmacological. Pharmacological pain control involves the use of analgesics (pain medications), as well as other medications that intensify the analgesics' effects or modify your mood or pain perception.

The following are some non-pharmacological approaches to pain management:

• Behavioral techniques
• Emotional counseling and support
• Radiation
• Surgery
• Neurological and neurosurgical interventions
• Traditional nursing and psychosocial interventions

The latter approaches attempt to promote your comfort during brain cancer treatment and evaluate the effectiveness of the therapy. Because of the complex nature of cancer-related pain, successful management usually involves integrating several different techniques into your brain cancer treatment plan.

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