What causes pain in cancer patients? Pain in cancer patients is most commonly caused by the cancer itself. However, pain can also be caused by things like cancer treatment or tests to diagnose cancer. You may also have pain that is completely unrelated to the cancer, like the headaches and muscle pain that many people will have followed by pain discomfort in other areas. Pain from Cancer Whether or not a person with cancer has pain and how much pain they have depends on the type of cancer, the stage at which the cancer has progressed, and your pain threshold (how much pain you tolerate). Most cancer pain occurs when the tumor presses on bones, nerves, or body organs. Pain is most likely to occur in cancers that are in the middle to advanced stages. Spinal cord compression: When a tumor metastasizes to the spine, it may press on the spinal cord, which is called spinal cord compression. The first symptom of spinal cord compression is usually pain in the back and/or neck. Sometimes pain or weakness in the extremities occurs. Coughing, sneezing or other movements often make these symptoms worse. If you have this pain, you should get help promptly. This pressure must be treated promptly to prevent loss of bowel control or paraplegia from occurring. Your doctor may treat the cause of the pain or may give you pain medication. Serious consequences like loss of bowel control can usually be avoided if you receive treatment soon after the onset of pain. Treatment will usually include radiation therapy to shrink the tumor or surgery to remove the tumor followed by radiation therapy. Skeletal pain Skeletal pain may occur when the cancer invades the bones. Treatment may be focused on controlling the progression of the cancer or on treating the invaded bone. External radiation therapy may focus on the invaded bone that has become weak. Sometimes a radiopharmaceutical is placed in the area of the invaded bone and makes it strong. Diphosphates are another medication that helps to strengthen the invaded bone and prevent it from fracturing. These are examples of things that treat the causes of cancer pain. You may also still need opiates or other pain medications, but these cancer-specific treatments will greatly reduce your pain. Pain from surgical or screening procedures Pain related to screening: Certain tests that are used to diagnose cancer and observe the effects of treatment can cause pain. If your doctor thinks these tests are necessary, you should not refuse them for fear of pain. Pain during or after these tests is usually effectively relieved. Usually your doctor will tell you beforehand about the medications used to relieve pain and how to use them. However, you may be told that the pain caused by the test is unavoidable or that it will not last long. Even so, you can ask for pain medication if needed. Surgery-induced pain: Surgery is often used for solid tumors that are in an advanced stage of development, but other treatments such as radiation therapy and chemotherapy are also part of a comprehensive tumor treatment. Depending on the type of surgery you undergo, some degree of pain is generally expected. Your doctor will use the necessary narcotic pain medications to spare you from surgical pain or to relieve post-operative pain. If you tell your doctor or nurse about post-operative pain, you will generally always be able to get medication for the pain right away. Depending on the type of surgery you have had, pain from surgery may last for days or weeks after surgery. Phantom pain: This is a different, longer-lasting type of surgical pain than regular surgical pain. When you have certain parts of a limb surgically removed, and in cases such as breast cancer where the breast is removed, you still feel pain or other unusual discomfort in the part that has been removed, and you feel that the pain is coming from the part that has been removed. There is no clear explanation for how this phenomenon works, but phantom pain loss does exist. There is no single treatment that is effective for all patients with phantom pain that occurs at any given time. However, there are many methods that have been used to treat hallucinatory pain, including pain medications, psychotherapy, antidepressant medication, and skin conductive electrical nerve stimulation therapy. If you have phantom pain, you should talk to your doctor and get his or her help. Pain from other treatments for cancer Certain cancer patients with side effects related to their chemotherapy and radiation therapy can also cause pain. If the pain is not effectively controlled it can even lead to stopping treatment. Tell your doctor about any changes you notice and the pain you feel. Here are some examples of pain associated with cancer treatment. Peripheral neuropathy: This condition includes pain, tingling, prickling, numbness, weakness, poor mobility, and difficulty walking that occurs in the hands, upper extremities, feet, and lower extremities. Peripheral neuropathy can be caused by certain chemotherapy treatments, but so can certain cancers themselves, vitamin deficiencies, and other conditions. You should tell your doctor and nurse if you notice any of these conditions. Painful mouth ulcers: Chemotherapy can cause ulcers and pain in the mouth and throat. This pain can be so severe that patients have difficulty eating and drinking. Radiation mucous membrane ulcers and other radiation damage: Depending on the site of external radiation treatment causes pain in different parts of the body. It can cause skin burns, mucosal ulcers and inflammation, all of which can be painful. Organs such as the throat, gastrointestinal tract, and bladder are susceptible to radiation damage and may become painful if these areas are treated with radiation.