Many of us experience pain throughout the day or during our treatment and after and one of the hardest things as a medical professional is to understand the depth of the pain that a patient is presenting with. I can look for verbal clues and non-verbal but I need to hear your describe your pain and many of us do not have the tools to adequately talk about what the pain is. One of the most common things we ask patients to say about their pain is the intensity of the pain, on a scale of one to ten and ten being the worst possible pain, what is your pain now? Does you pain get worse at night or in the day and describe the pain, is it dull, stabbing, tinglingg, burning, throbbing, aching, sharp? Is it constant or does it come and go and does it get worse with activity or when you eat ? Does it limit what you do each day and how? What do you do to relieve this pain? Is what you are doing effective? Does this affect your mood, your quality of life, your sleep? Without clues to what is happening you may not adequately describe what you are going through. We need your input to adequately evaluate and treat your pain. Not everyone has the same level of pain tolerance and you have to work with your support team to get you best outcome. This doesn't just have to do with Cancer pain, this can be headache pain, or back pain, or whatever type of pain you are feeling. Knowing that these adjectives and the scale with your description can help us on our way to meeting your needs is a vital tool for you now and in the future. We all know that without sleep and having pain, we are less able to cope with the needs and challenges of each day. Our emotions are heightened and our patience is lessened and it pulls us deeper and deeper to a place that no one enjoys. So my thought for the day is, if you are experiencing continuing or recurring pain, it is time to address it and get answers and help. Through education, expert advice, and strategies, as professionals we can make it a better day. S
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AuthorMy name is Sue Kilburn and I am a clinical nurse breast cancer educator at the Yolanda G. Barco Oncology Institute in Meadville, Pennsylvania. Archives
March 2015
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