Multidisciplinary Approach to Pain Control

Summary

Pain relief is a realistic target for the majority of cancer patients, so that health care workers should be appropriately educated about the updated knowledge and skills of pain management. Evaluation and treatment of cancer pain are best achieved by a team approach. The first steps are to take a detailed history, and to examine the patient carefully to determine the cause of the pain. Treatment should begin with an explanation and combined physical and psychological approach, using both drug and non-drug measures. Radiotherapy, nerve blocks and neurosurgical procedures are needed in a few cases. Nevertheless, analgesics and a limited number of other drugs are the mainstay of cancer pain management. Drugs are very effective when used along with the five key concepts: by mouth, by the ladder, for the individual, by the clock and attention to detail. National policy, teaching and training, opioid availability are the three important criteria in order to effectively implement a cancer pain relief programme in each country where cancer incidence and mortality are expected to continue to rise.