Ovarian Cancer Treatments – Pain Management

Pain Management for Ovarian Cancer

At Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA), we understand cancer-related pain can have a significant impact on your quality of life. As part of our whole-patient approach to ovarian cancer treatment, our pain management specialists offer a variety of different pain management techniques to help improve your well-being during your care at CTCA.

Cancer pain from ovarian cancer may be classified as either acute or chronic. Acute pain is short-term pain that has an easily identifiable cause, such as tissue damage. Once the cause of acute pain has been identified, it can be successfully treated and managed.

Chronic pain, on the other hand, is more difficult to identify and treat. Thus, it is persistent and is usually greater than three months in duration. Because the cause of chronic pain often cannot be altered, your nervous system will adapt, which may cause additional side effects of depression, anxiety and/or insomnia.

Causes of Pain

Most patients with advanced ovarian cancer may experience pain at some point. Cancer-related pain can result both from the disease process itself, as well as from conventional ovarian cancer treatments such as surgery, radiation, and/or chemotherapy.

The type of pain you may experience depends on many factors, from the site and stage of your ovarian cancer, to your age, personality, and pain threshold. Pain is also influenced by psychological factors. Fear, anxiety and insomnia can lower the pain threshold, while rest, sleep and diversion can improve comfort levels during ovarian cancer treatment.

At CTCA, we understand everyone experiences pain differently. Here, we tailor our pain management techniques to your personal needs.

Pain Assessment

An accurate assessment of your pain experience provides a basis for an evaluation of various pain management techniques. At CTCA, our pain management clinicians provide a comprehensive assessment that includes information about 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 pain
• Effects of therapy and patterns of coping

Pain Management Program at CTCA

The goal of the Pain Management Program at CTCA is not only to provide relief from pain, but also to enable you to maintain your normal quality of life during your ovarian cancer treatment. Our methods of pain management attempt to either control the cause of the pain or alter your perception of it.

At CTCA, we use several therapeutic approaches to pain management, including pharmacological and non-pharmacological pain control. 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 non-pharmacological approaches your care team may incorporate into your ovarian cancer treatment:

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

The latter aims to promote your comfort during ovarian cancer treatment and evaluate the effectiveness of the therapy.

Because of the complex nature of pain in ovarian cancer patients, successful management usually involves an integrative combination of different techniques.

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