Mesothelioma Pain Management

Mesothelioma is a dreadful disease in which the patient has to go through several painful moments. Especially during the last stages of the disease, the pain gets really excruciating and managing the pain becomes a challenge.

Unfortunately, some part of the pain is caused by the drugs and treatments that are given to treat mesothelioma. These drugs and modes of treatment can cause almost the same level of discomfort and pain as the disease which directly clashes with the pain relieving techniques.

Pain Management while Suffering from Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma pain management depends on certain factors. It may be the location or extent of cancer. In most of the cases of mesothelioma, the pain is felt in the chest, back and abdominal cavity. Pain can also result due to bowel obstruction.

If a patient is suffering from extraordinary mesothelioma pain, it is best to consult the doctor for medicines and help. Apart from chemotherapy, surgery, immune therapy and radiation therapy, you might need some other medications and treatments to relieve the pain. To improve the quality of patient’s life, it is important to manage the pain.

Taking Prescribed Medicines

Victims of mesothelioma can alleviate their pain by taking prescribed medicines. In most of the cases where mesothelioma has not advanced to high levels, over-the-counter pain killers like aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil and Motrin) and Tylenol are helpful.

Some medications for controlling mesothelioma pain are divided into groups

• Non-opiods are non-narcotic drugs which are used to relieve mild to moderate pain. Some of these non-opiod drugs are Aspirin and Motrin
• Opioids are narcotics given to reduce moderate to severe mesothelioma pain such as morphine fentanyl, vicodin, oxycodone, and hydromorphone
• Rapid-onset opioids are narcotics which are given to treat breakthrough pain

Keeping a Record of Mesothelioma Pain as it Occurs

A patient is the only one who knows best where the pain occurs, when it occurs or how intense it is and what could help him/her during this time of pain. Maintaining a graph or a journal will help in keeping a close eye on the pain and help in better management. Once you notice a pain pattern and document it in your journal, it will become easier for your doctors to treat your pain. The patient can discuss this in detail with the medical team who can come up with an effective plan for pain management. Also inform your doctor if you develop any new kind of pain or problem so it can be promptly looked into and managed.

Pain Management Tools

There are some other mesothelioma pain management tools too apart from pain killers. These tools include the use of anesthesia medications. They can be administered orally, intravenously, as suppositories, patches and shots.

In some cases, epidurals, nerve blocks and implanted pain pumps are given for pain management in mesothelioma patients. However, these medicines are also liable to cause some side effects which can be controlled by proper usage and doctor’s advice.

Neurosurgery

Another option to reduce mesothelioma pain is neurosurgery. With this surgery the nerve paths are altered or interrupted to reduce pain. In some cases, neurosurgery is also used to implant drug delivery devices in the body. In some cases, this method has helped the patients in pain management.

Support Groups

One way to lessen the extent of pain and help the patients and their family members to deal with the associated anxiety and stress is to join support groups. In these groups, patients suffering from mesothelioma are taught coping skills to handle pain and how to ask your loved ones to help you in this time of need. Coping with pain is one step towards treatment.

• Relaxation, meditation, distraction, visualization and hypnosis are some other tools which are practiced in support groups which help the patients in redirecting their energy to something other than pain.
• Music is another such tool which helps in pain management for mesothelioma patients
• Massage and physical and aquatic therapy help you with mobility by stimulating the body muscles and nerves
• Some patients have also been helped with acupuncture

Efforts are underway to find newer and better means to help mesothelioma patients with pain management. A combination of above methods may facilitate you in helping yourself or your loved one. Some of these methods cost nothing but go a long way in assisting the patients.