Pain and Cancer: Using Integrative Therapies Can Help
Approximately one third of cancer patients will experience pain related to their cancer or cancer treatments during their care. That pain can be anything from a minor nuisance to completely debilitating, preventing cancer patients from functioning in their day-to-day lives.
Working to control pain during and after treatment is crucial in cancer care. Patients should know to always discuss pain with their doctors, as pain is the body’s way of communicating that something is wrong. Many times, that something is physical, but sometimes it is mental or emotional. The treatment team will need to know about a patient’s pain in order to help, whatever its cause.
Traditional approaches to pain management for cancer patients might include surgery or chemotherapy to remove or shrink any kind of solid tumor that could be contributing to the pain. A traditional approach might also include pain relieving medications to minimize the impact of pain at its source. Integrative approaches are meant to work in conjunction with these traditional approaches.
Using integrative therapies to help patients manage their pain is an important approach. Integrative therapies combine medicine with supportive care methods. The goal of using integrative therapies for cancer related pain is to decrease that pain while also promoting a patient’s well-being – something that can influence pain levels for the better. Ideally, integrative therapies may decrease the amount of pain medication needed.
Some of the most widely used integrative therapies include:
Nutritional support to help manage GI pain, nausea, and oral sores
Acupuncture
Massage therapy
Behavioral therapy to support emotional, mental, and social pain
Hypnosis
Music therapy
Animal assisted therapy (pet therapy)
Mind/body therapies like meditation
Yoga or tai chi
Biofeedback to help retrain muscles related to chronic pain
Physical therapy and occupational therapy (PT and OT)
Spiritual guidance and care
Naturopathic support like natural or botanical remedies
Part of the idea behind integrative therapies is that they are meant to treat the “whole person,” and not just the tumor or cancer cells. Srilata Gundala, MD, a hematologist/oncologist and the founder of Hope & Healing Care Centers in Lombard and Hinsdale, Illinois understands the benefits of integrative therapies in her practice and uses them regularly, “I encourage all of my patients to tell me about their pain so we can work to relieve it. It is so important for those people going through cancer treatment to have access to anything and everything that could help them if they are feeling pain. Sometimes that is a new prescription and sometimes it might be adding yoga, massage, acupuncture, or a different diet. I rely on integrative therapies to help me provide the care my patients need.”
You can learn more about why integrative therapies are valued at Hope & Healing Care Centers in earlier blog posts:
Written By: Sheila Quirke, MSW
Reviewed By: Srilata Gundala, MD
