Pain

Pain (PDQ) (National Cancer Institute)
Addresses pain topics including: pain assessment, pain management with drugs, physical and psychosocial interventions, anticancer interventions, invasive interventions and pain in elderly patients. Patient and physician versions available. [6/04]

Cancer Pain (The National Pain Foundation)
Offers treatment information for cancer pain and palliative care that is peer-reviewed by leading pain specialists. Specific treatment options - from traditional to complementary - are explained and placed in context to facilitate decision-making. Options are arranged to guide patients from the mildest to strongest forms of treatment. Additional helpful information on pain management is available throughout The National Pain Foundation's website. [2/06]

Pain Control: A Guide for People with Cancer and their Families (National Cancer Institute)
Easy-to-understand online booklet covers: Pain-What is it?, Relief of Pain, How to Relieve Pain with Medicines, Nonprescription Pain Relievers, Prescription Pain Relievers; How to Relieve Pain Without Medication, Other Methods of Pain Relief, Sources of Additional Information and a Glossary. [11/00]

Cancer-Pain (Association of Online Cancer Resources)
Online discussion group for cancer patients dealing with pain issues.

Side Effects of Pain Medication (MD Anderson Cancer Center)
Discusses the benefits and side effects of medications used to relieve cancer-related pain. Includes a link to more in-depth information on opioid side effects (nausea, constipation, central nervous system effects) and how to manage them. [10/01]

Implantable Device May Offer Better Pain Management (National Cancer Institute)
Reports on a study in the October 1, 2002 issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology that found patients with advanced cancer who used an implantable drug-delivery device to control their pain had better pain relief, fewer toxic side effects, and better survival than patients who received intensive medical pain management. [12/03]

Electrical Nerve Stimulation May Help Reduce Chronic Pain in Cancer Patients (Doctor's Guide)
Summarizes the report by University of Texas-Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas in the December issue of The Clinical Journal of Pain detailing findings that percutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (PENS), produced significant acute pain relief in patients, including those with pain from bony metastases. [6/99]

Use of Transdermal Fentanyl in Patients With Cancer Pain (PubMed)
Abstract of a study published in the March 2004 issue of Current Medical Research and Opinion that found transdermal fentanyl is an effective and well-tolerated treatment for cancer-related pain for patients regardless of whether they have previously received opioids. [3/04]

Interventional Management of Cancer Pain (Medscape)
Continuing education module (CME), by Allen W. Burton, MD, aimed at physicians that presents an overview of the interventions available to patients with intractable cancer pain who cannot achieve adequate analgesia with systemic opioid therapy or who are unable to achieve a balance between analgesia and the side effects associated with opioid therapy. Specific topics covered include: evaluation, assessment and diagnosis of cancer pain; guidelines for management of cancer pain; overview of interventional strategies; intraspinal administration of analgesics; neurolytic blocks; treating vertebral compression fractures; ablative techniques; and palliative care. Registration required for free access to Medscape. [01/05]