Cancer Pain Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Cancer Pain - Literature review Example The nurses need to understand how to apply their clinical knowledge in the management of pain by identifying the type of pain patient presents with, along with the right medication or treatment strategy to manage it. MANAGEMENT OF CANCER PAIN Pain is one of the most common features of cancer, but it can present itself at any stage and can be both acute and chronic in type. Around 90% of the patients with cancer are likely to experience certain type of pain. This severity is likely to increase should proper medication is not given at the right time (Cancer Pain Overview, 2011). Defined as a physiological identification of a series of electrical and chemical events, pain can take many shapes and levels of severity. Not only the cancer itself but also other clinical situations may cause pain, which may or may not be related to the disease. These may include surgery, use of certain medications and the effects of radiation therapy (Cancer Pain Overview, 2011). Nurses come across the manag ement of pain very regularly, not only in cancer, but also in other care aspects as well. However, cancer pain management is much more challenging due to the constantly changing dynamics of health of the cancer patients. Many reports reveal that although pain is the most common complaint one presents with, it often is not managed properly, with the result that patients do not find complete relief from their ailment (Pain Management, nd). Nurses therefore, have been working on this area of research and creating ways to identify best practices of controlling and eliminating pain, with ease to both the staff and the patient (Zepettella, 2009). The intensity of pain can be of many types and durations, and based on these two factors, the treatment therapy and approach is determined. Patients may have varying types and intensities of pain within the same day, therefore, it is important to analyze and identify they type of pain they are experiencing. At one moment the pain may be regular p ain that is a feature of the normal body. At the other moment, the pain may be of breakthrough kind (Zepettella, 2009). Still other type of pain may be taking place due to pressure on the surrounding structures. Therefore, the key need by nursing professionals will be to correctly analyze the type, severity, duration and cause of pain. There are many concerns that nurses may have regarding provision of pain medication. Nurses are concerned that providing high doses of medication can lead to substance abuse among patients. They also believe that pain should be treated when it occurs and unnecessary medication before the onset of pain is unnecessary. Nurses believe that pain should be physically expressed in order to receive the medication, and that patients may exaggerate their level of pain, which may lead to overdose. These and other such reasons may make nurses hesitate in providing pain medication or high doses of pain medication to their patients (Pain Management, nd). The pain in cancer can be of many types, and the chief determinant is the location where the tumor is expanding along with the regional structures that may be affected by it. Types of pain in cancer from can include nerve and bone pain, soft tissue pain, phantom pain and referred pain respectively (Zepettella, 2009). Some of the common reasons that can trigger such pain include blocked blood vessels in the tumor region, leading to poor circulation of blood, fracture of bones mostly