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Pharmacy Links

AFTER CANCER: RELIEVING PAIN

12th March 2009

What Is the Goal of Pain Treatment?

The goal of pain management is to make your pain manageable so that you can continue your life in a meaningful way.

Optimal pain management means minimizing physical pain and minimizing any adverse response to or consequence of the pain.

In some cases, it means learning how to accept a certain level of pain and making adjustments in your lifestyle.

How Does Self-relaxation Work to Relieve Pain?

When you learn self-relaxation or meditation, you learn to focus on something, such as a mental image of a calm lake, to distract you from pain signals. Through various techniques, you can learn to decrease tension in your muscles. This allows you to achieve a state of deep relaxation that provides immediate comfort and helps replenish your physical and emotional energy stores.

How can focusing on something stop you from feeling pain? Your perception of pain is affected by your attention to it. For example, an ice skater who sustains a gash during competition may be unaware of the cut until the performance is completed and the dripping blood is noticed. This same skater might scream with pain when receiving a routine vaccination. Or, while reading an exciting book, you may not notice the sound of the bathtub overflowing in the next room. And yet, at night you may be unable to sleep because of the sound of a dripping faucet. Although you cannot always control the source of pain, you can control your attention to it.

Studies are in progress to determine whether regular relaxation measurably improves the immune system and prevents medical problems, such as heart disease and cancer.

You can learn relaxation techniques from qualified counselors and psychiatrists. There are also books, pamphlets, and audio-tapes on self-relaxation and meditation. Information on stress management and counselling can be obtained from the Cancer Information Service.