Pain Survivorship Clinics
While cancer-related pain is reported in nearly half of all patients, the good news is that you don’t have to endure it.
City of Hope offers specialized survivorship pain clinics to ease pain and improve patients’ quality of life.
Many different types of treatments are available, including medications, acupuncture, hypnosis, massage, relaxation techniques, physical activity, transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation (TENS) and behavioral therapies.
If you’re experiencing the following conditions, your doctor can provide a referral to an occupational therapist, physical therapist, interventional pain specialist, palliative care physician, urologist, social worker or another specialist. Always bring new or worsening pain symptoms to the attention of your medical providers.
City of Hope offers specialized survivorship pain clinics to ease pain and improve patients’ quality of life.
Many different types of treatments are available, including medications, acupuncture, hypnosis, massage, relaxation techniques, physical activity, transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation (TENS) and behavioral therapies.
If you’re experiencing the following conditions, your doctor can provide a referral to an occupational therapist, physical therapist, interventional pain specialist, palliative care physician, urologist, social worker or another specialist. Always bring new or worsening pain symptoms to the attention of your medical providers.
Postsurgical pain
Postsurgical pain is often a short-term, intense pain related to nerve damage, inflammation or tissue trauma following surgery.
While the intensity and duration of recovery varies depending on the surgery, studies show that up to 60 percent of survivors experience this type of pain.
There are cases where postoperative pain can become chronic if it persists for an extended period of time after healing.
Phantom pain
When a leg, arm, breast or limb has been surgically removed, survivors might experience phantom pain that seems to be coming from the absent body part.
This is a normal experience and can be treated through medication, physical therapy or other interventions.
This is a normal experience and can be treated through medication, physical therapy or other interventions.
Postradiation pain
Radiation treatment can cause external pain, including skin burns, mouth sores or painful scarring. It can also cause internal pain in the treated area, particularly when radiation is directed toward the throat, intestine or bladder.
Postradiation pain can occur immediately, or even months or years after radiation.
Postradiation pain can occur immediately, or even months or years after radiation.
Arthralgias and myalgias
Cancer treatments often cause joint pain (arthralgias) and muscle aches (myalgias), with aching symptoms similar to arthritis.
These conditions affect about 50 percent of women taking aromatase inhibitors, and are often worse in the morning and improve during the day as you move.