Pain
Eight Facts Everyone Should Know About Cancer Pain

1. Fear: Cancer causes intolerable pain which cannot be relieved.
   Fact: Some patients with cancer never have pain. For those that do, cancer pain CAN be relieved.



2. Fear: Patients who use narcotics will become addicted.
   Fact: Patients, who take narcotics for pain rarely, if ever, become addicted.



3. Fear: If strong medications like morphine are used too soon, they will not work later if the pain gets worse.
   Fact: Strong medications like morphine stay effective as long as they are needed. If pain increases, the medication dose can also be increased as much as needed.



4. Fear: Strong pain medications, such as narcotics, have unpleasant side effects.
   Fact: The most common side effects are feeling sleepy, nausea and constipation. Sleepiness and nausea go away after a few days. Simple treatments can control nausea and constipation.



5. Fear: Complaining about pain means you are not a "good" patient.
   Fact: Doctors and nurses must know about all of a patient's symptoms, including pain, in order to give good care.



6. Fear: Talking about pain will distract the doctor from working to treat the cancer.
   Fact: Pain relief is an important part of cancer care. Pain can interfere with sleep and rest, which are important to the body's ability to fight disease.



7. Fear: Pain means that the cancer is getting worse.
   Fact: Pain can be due to cancer or the effects of cancer treatment. Sometimes the pain is unrelated to the cancer.



8. Fear: "Shots" will be needed to control cancer pain.
   Fact: At least 9O% of cancer pain can be effectively relieved by simple medications that are taken by mouth. Other treatments can help the rest. "Shots" are almost never necessary.