Pain Management

Pain Management - The use of pain control methods to reduce or alleviate acute (short-term) or chronic (long-term) pain. Cancer pain may result from the cancer itself, or as a side effect of cancer treatment. The severity and prevalence of cancer pain can depend the type of cancer, the site (location) and stage (extent) of the disease, and the individual's pain threshold (or tolerance for pain).

Pharmacological approaches to pain management use analgesics (painkillers) and/or other drugs that either increase the analgesics' effects, or alter your pain perception. Non-pharmacological approaches embrace a wide variety of additional therapies, from behavioral, neurological, or psychological interventions, to palliative surgery and radiation treatments. Because of the complex nature of cancer-related pain, successful pain management usually involves a combination of techniques.

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