Pain is often one of the main reasons that people seek a doctor when they have mesothelioma. Often the disease brings pain in the chest or abdomen but if it spreads to other parts of the body, the pain extends to those areas also. As the tumors grow from the disease, the pain becomes more severe.
By remaining as active as possible and following a good nutritional regimen, the sufferer from the disease helps his body fight back at the cancer and in doing so, extend the prognosis from the doctor. However, fighting the pain isn’t easy and often unattainable without the aid of physicians, alternative treatment and palliative care.
Just as a sore stomach can occur if too much gas builds in it, that’s a simplified version of how the pain occurs with mesothelioma. The tumor can cause a build-up of fluid in the chest or abdomen. This fluid and the expanding tumor slowly crush the vital organs.
If you go to a mesothelioma cancer centre, they begin treatment for pain as early as possible to provide the most relief and therefore increase the quality of the patient’s life. Early treatment for mesothelioma pain is often the most effective.
There are various types of pain treatment. Some of them involve alternative treatments such as massage therapy and mental imaging. Others follow the traditional treatment, which includes pharmacological treatment and consists of opioid drugs, non-opioid drugs and various other medication.
Opiods for severe to moderate pain
Opioid drugs are normally for moderate to severe pain and doctors may prescribe them at any stage of the disease. Morphine, codeine, oxycodone, Actiq, Diliaudid, and fentanyl are also drugs used when pain is severe. When patients experience breakthrough pain, the type occurring suddenly but only for short periods, doctors use onset pain relievers such as oral morphine.
Non-opiods for milder pain
A second type of drug often used is non-opioids. This type of pain reliever is normally for milder pain. Tylenol and other acetaminophen drugs as well as some anti-inflammatory, non-steroidal drugs like ibuprofen fit this category. The non-opioid pain relievers often accompany other therapies.
Sometimes the pain is more of a tingling or burning sensation, which occurs from nerve damage in patients with mesotheliom. Norpramine and Elavil, two antidepressants, help in this case. In addition, anticonvulsants help with this type of pain. Neurontin can bring relief in this case. If the patient experiences swell, corticosteroids are the prescription of choice.
Chronic pain
Chronic pain can affect the patient of mesothelioma, leaving him exhausted and drained of all energy to fight the disease. If this is the case, the doctor may use a nerve block to give him temporary relief from the pain or an epidural or intrathecal pump to offer relief that is more continuous. They also may suggest neurosurgery to cut the nerves that deliver the message of pain to the brain or implant a drug delivery device that stimulates the nerve fibers and reduces the pain.
While the world of medicine can bring a lot of relief to mesothelioma patients, there are also alternative actions that can help bring pain relief without medication. Many times a mesothelioma cancer centre offers these treatments or your doctor may suggest a qualified practitioner who can help you through your pain with an alternative method.
Relaxation techniques
There are various relaxation techniques available for mesothelioma pain management. The techniques may involve deep breathing or meditation, but the focus is to relax the tension in the muscles, lessen the anxiety the disease causes, improve sleep and therefore give the patient more strength to fight the disease. Simply reducing the muscle tension can help reduce the pain.
Biofeedback
Biofeedback uses a special machine that allows the patient to see the heart rate, blood pressure and the tension in the muscles. By watching the readings, the patient learns to relax, lower blood pressure and lower the pain. There is a technician to guide the patient through the practice until they know how to train their muscles to relax.
Hypnotherapy
Hypotherapy is another method that helps the patient cope with the pain of mesothelioma. Hypnotherapy is a widely accepted therapy for pain control. In fact, there are hypnotherapists licensed as nurses for all types of diseases and child birthing. Once the therapist works with patient, they can learn self-hypnosis to put themselves in a relaxed state and relieve much of their pain.
Massage
Even though massage therapy provides a relaxation to the patient, it also can help to move the fluids through the body by stimulating the area and relaxing the muscles. The use of aromatic oils can also bring additional relief. Several studies show that massage therapy of any type helps the patient have immediate relief from pain but often it’s not long lasting.
However, some massage therapy realigns the body and does have a lasting effect on some types of pain in mesothelioma patients there are a number of different massage techniques found effective.
Swedish massage, soft-tissue release, myofascial, trigger-point (myotherapy), neuromuscular, reflexive, circulatory or lymphatic, Craniosacral and movement re-education are all Western massage therapies available.
Eastern therapies include Shiatsu, tui na, acupressure, reflexology, Huin shin-do, Thai and polarity therapy.
Acupuncture
Another form of pain relief, which comes from the Chinese culture, is acupuncture. The theory behind acupuncture is that the body has specific meridians and pathways. By triggering specific areas with the insertion of fine needles, these pathways can block pain and stimulate the body to heal. While the acupuncture may not cause healing in the mesothelioma patient, there are numerous reports that attest to its pain relief for the mesothelioma victim.
TENS – Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation
A TENS machine, transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation, uses a harmless electrical current to bring relief from mesothelioma pain. The electrical impulses sent to the body by the machine report to reduce the pain in many patients. The patient, once they learn the proper use of the machine can use it at home when it becomes necessary.
Heat and cold
Simple use of heat and cold can also help the patient in pain. Using cold compresses, gel packs, ice packs or water frozen in a cup, wrapped in a towel, and applied on the area can produce a numbing in that area. Heat applied to sore muscles can reduce the pain, just as a how shower, hot water bottle or heating pad. Helping the patient with applications of cold or hot compresses is one way of showing family support.
The healing touch, while part of massage therapy, also can help the mesothelioma patient when it comes from loving and caring family members no matter what mesothelioma stages the patient enters. The mesothelioma survival rate can increase with hope, love, strict diet and activity because it keeps the spirit high and the body healthier to fight the disease.