Talking about pain

[Katekat]

This week is National Pain Week across Australia, with a focus on that pain does not discriminate and going through pain can be a lonely process but that it shouldn’t be.

National Pain Week 2017Not everyone with cancer experiences pain. However, some people with cancer, undergoing treatment or an unrelated condition, pain can be an everyday reality, with varying grades and degrees. You can find out more about the different types of pain that either yourself or your loved one may be going through or have gone through, here.

“After the mastectomy, I was in a lot of pain. I took strong Panadol every four hours for two months and that helped.”

Read more of Pam’s story, here.

The following is a 15 minute video, that was originally a DVD publication put out by Cancer Council NSW. Now you can watch it at your convenience.

The video covers issues such as talking about pain; the pain scale; keeping a pain diary; when to take medication; dosage; side effects, including depression; and other ways to reduce pain, such as meditation and music.

We also have a PDF publication, entitled “Overcoming Cancer Pain”, that is also available in a hardcopy booklet – just contact either myself or phone 13 11 20 to request one be sent out to you.

We also have some other resources, such as:

• Cancer pain professionals, the different people and teams that can assist in pain management.
• How to describe your pain, so your treatment team can assist you in the best possible way.
• How to use medicines.
• Caring for someone in pain.

We encourage you to share your experiences and stories here in the Online Community, this site is a safe place where we want you to feel that you can talk to anyone and know that you are not alone.