Cancer pain is a very common problem. Currently, 30% to 70% of cancer patients around the world have different degrees of pain, and the incidence of pain in advanced cancer patients is even higher. In China, a recent survey shows that more than 50% of cancer patients are accompanied by pain. Therefore, effective pain relief for these patients is an important issue for both the patients and their families. Three-step pain relief First step Patient performance: pain is tolerable, does not affect normal life and basically does not affect sleep. Such pain is mild cancer pain. The pain relief drugs used for mild cancer pain are the first-step drugs. Commonly used drugs: non-steroidal anti-inflammatory analgesics, such as aspirin, paracetamol, plus Heparin, ibuprofen, anti-inflammatory pain, indomethacin, etc. Second-stage patient performance: when the pain persists and affects sleep and appetite, it escalates to moderate pain. At this time, in addition to the first-step medication, the second-step pain medication should be added. Commonly used drugs: codeine, prednisolone, tramadol, diacerein, etc. Third step Patient’s performance: cancer pain is so severe and unbearable that sleep and diet are seriously disturbed, and it is difficult to sleep at night and pain is intensified. At this time, it is basically impossible to control pain with general pain medications, and other analgesics or weak opioids cannot achieve satisfactory analgesic effect. Commonly used drugs: morphine tablets, Mefecam, Methocarbamol, etc. Note: Pay attention to the timing of taking medication to be used continuously in the early stage of pain, do not wait until the pain is intense or do not wait for the drug to take effect. Short-acting drugs should be taken on time aspirin, paracetamol, ibuprofen, codeine, prednisone, tramadol, morphine tablets, etc. are short-acting, generally 3 to 4 hours to take the drug once. Long-acting drugs 12 hours with a recent application of slow release or controlled release technology can make the active ingredients of the drug slowly released, the efficacy is longer. Such as Fenbid and Isidin in the first step, Chimantin and Diclofenac in the second step, Mefecam and Mescaline in the third step, the action time of these drugs can generally be maintained for about 12 hours. Emphasis on adjuvant drugs Most cancer patients suffer from cancer pain for a long time, and many of them are mentally devastated and eventually accompanied by mental symptoms such as mild or severe depression, anxiety and irritability. Taking oral Valium, Scholastin, Amitriptyline, Doxepin, Prozac, etc. at the same time of pain relief has the effect of sedation and improving mood, and can also reduce the dose of pain medication and regulate the patient’s mental state, improve sleep and improve the quality of life. In addition, since most of the pain-relieving drugs have side effects such as stimulation of gastrointestinal mucosa, inhibition of gastrointestinal peristalsis and dry stools, it is also beneficial to add some gastric mucosa protectants, gastrointestinal motility drugs and laxative drugs in the process of application. Therefore, the role of adjuvant drugs should be emphasized at the beginning of cancer pain treatment, and they can be included as regular drugs, so that patients can successfully accept and complete the “three-step” treatment. Get rid of misunderstanding: 1. Morphine is addictive for pain relief. For cancer patients, the key issue is not addiction, but effective pain relief to improve their quality of life. And in fact, due to the pain, cancer patients do not experience euphoria in the process of morphine application. Therefore, morphine is now classified as a routine pain medication. It should be noted that because morphine drugs do have a certain tolerance phenomenon, sometimes it is necessary when increasing the dose to achieve the ideal pain relief effect. 2. From the first step to the third step, the effect of the drug becomes stronger and stronger. After using the high step painkillers, you can no longer use the low step drugs. The mechanism of each ladder drug is different, and the high ladder drugs cannot block all the ways of pain caused by tumor, so the drugs of the second and first ladder or the third and first ladder often need to be applied in combination to play the proper role.