CANCER PAIN: GETTING HELP

Here are some people and places that can help manage cancer pain:

Oncologists. Chances are if you have been diagnosed with cancer you have an oncologist, or cancer specialist, on your medical team. Many of today's oncologists are knowledgeable about pain control management. Ask to make sure that your doctor is comfortable prescribing medications and other therapies that can ease your pain.

Palliative Care Service or Symptom Control Service. These services provide multi-disciplinary symptom management and comprehensive total patient care for better control of all the symptoms, such as pain, nausea, vomiting, constipation, anxiety, fatigue, shortness of breath, etc, that a cancer patient may experience while going through active cancer therapy. These services also provide active care to improve a cancer patients' quality of life, according to his or her wishes, if the cancer cannot be cured.

Comprehensive Pain Centers. Such centers provide an integrated variety of treatment options, but may not have cancer pain programs or specialists. Be sure to check first.

Pain Medicine Physician. Pain Medicine has become a medical specialty in recent years. Pain Medicine physicians specialize in treating many different pain conditions. Depending on background and interest, many treat cancer pain. However, inquire about their experience and interest in treating cancer pain and whether they incorporate a variety of therapeutic (multi-modality) approaches.