Managing pain in cancer care
Many people with cancer worry about spending their final days in pain, but not everyone has pain. For some, pain comes and goes.
The health professionals caring for you won’t let you suffer with unrelieved pain,and will help you to manage it as much as possible.
GPs are experienced in managing pain, and they can seek advice from or involve the specialist palliative care team if required. It’s important not to just “put up with” pain and assume it’s normal. Controlling pain lets you continue activities for longer and offers a better quality of life.
Finding the right pain relief
The way pain is managed depends on the type of pain and its intensity. It may take time to find what works best for you. Your doctor may prescribe a combination of pain medicines. You could be offered:
| Mild pain medicine | paracetamol and anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen or diclofenac (Voltaren) |
| Strong pain medicine | opioids such as morphine, oxycodone, fentanyl and hydromorphone |
| Other medicines | • antidepressant and anticonvulsant medicines for nerve pain • local anaesthetics for severe nerve pain • certain anti-anxiety medicines, also used for muscle spasms • a nerve block or epidural (for pain that is difficult to manage). |
Sometimes pain medicine can be given as a continuous infusion, where a small needle (cannula) is inserted under the skin and the medicine is delivered slowly by a pump. You can have many types of pain relief at home.
For more on this, see Pain and cancer, and listen to our podcast on Managing Cancer Pain and the podcast below.
Podcast: Managing Pain when Cancer Is Advanced
Listen to more episodes from our podcast for people affected by cancer
Fiona Wiseman, Senior Social Worker, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, VIC; Grace Berwald, Consumer; Peta Brydon, Metastatic McGrath Breast Care Clinical Nurse Consultant, The Kinghorn Cancer Centre, NSW; Kate Bunyan, Social Worker, Psychosocial Lead, Cancer and Palliative Supportive Care, Canberra Region Cancer Centre, ACT; Hayden Christie, Medical Oncologist and Clinical Director Cancer Care Service and Clinical Lead of the VAD Service for Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service, QLD; John Clements, Consumer; Claire Davies, Spiritual Care Practitioner, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, VIC; Joanne Dean, Nurse Practitioner, PEACE Team, Clare Holland House, ACT; A/Prof Michael Franco, Medical Oncologist and Palliative Medicine Physician, Deputy Head – Monash Medical School, Monash University, VIC; Dr Sally Greenaway, WSLHD Director of Supportive and Palliative Care, Senior Staff Specialist Clinical Haematology and Clinical Ethics Service, NSW; Maree Grier, Clinical Psychologist, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, QLD; Dr Catherine Joyce, National Manager, Advance Care Planning Australia; Mattesse Kitchin, Consumer; Penny Neller, Project Manager, End of Life Law for Clinicians, Australian Centre for Health Law Research, Queensland University of Technology, QLD; Caitriona Nienaber 13 11 20 Consultant, Cancer Council WA; Palliative Care Australia; A/Prof Joel Rhee, Head of Discipline of General Practice, School of Clinical Medicine, University of New South Wales, NSW.
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