Clinical updates: Cancer & cancer survivors

Presented at: EFIC Virtual Pain Education Summit

Speakers

Martin Galligan

The Royal Marsden School, United Kingdom
BIOGRAPHY
Suzanne Chapman

Clinical Nurse Specialist Pain Management, Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom
BIOGRAPHY

Abstract

Chair: Martin Galligan, United Kingdom

Nature of cancer-related pain
Martin Galligan, United Kingdom

The incidence of cancer diagnosis is growing year on year with 25% of world cancer diagnoses coming from across Europe. This growing rate of cancer diagnoses has resulted with an expected 27.5million cancer diagnoses being made by 2040. As the incidence of cancer increases so does the incidence of cancer related pain. The nature of cancer related pain is complex, and it is essential that we are able to have an appreciation of its complexity and how it impacts on the individual living with and beyond a cancer diagnosis. This short presentation aims to explores the characteristics of cancer pain and how this impact on an individual’s experience of pain.

Principles of cancer-related pain management
Martin Galligan, United Kingdom & Suzanne Chapman, United Kingdom

Making a change in clinical practice no matter how big can be extremely challenging and seem like an impossible task at times. Even with the simplest of changes in practice there are a numerous factor that need to be taken into consideration such as impact on staffing, costs, governance and logistics. In this short presentation I will be sharing with you my experience of implementing change within clinical practice and outline some of the common challenges with my top tips on how to embed a successful change in practice.

Managing pain in cancer survivors
Suzanne Chapman, United Kingdom

Principles of cancer-related pain management

When formulating a management plan for cancer related pain it is essential that this is based on a sound holistic assessment and consists of a multimodal analgesic plan consisting of both pharmacological, non-pharmacological and interventional techniques. The use of pharmacological strategies should be based around the WHO analgesic ladder however it is important to remember that this is a guide and in some instances it will be appropriate to move straight to step three agents. The principals around scheduling and routes of administration will be explored in this session with a focus on multimodal plans.

Non-pharmacological approaches are important adjuncts in the management of pain in patients with cancer related pain and cancer treatment related pain. They are often combined with pharmacological and interventional treatment approaches to provide a multi-modal approach to pain management.

Non-pharmacological approaches can be broadly categorised into psychological interventions and physical interventions. These interventions aim to target modification of pain perception and experience.

Managing Pain in Cancer Survivors:

Improvement in cancer screening, drug therapies and more personalised multi-modality treatments have led to an increase in survival rates of patient with cancer, which has resulted in a rapidly increasing number of cancer survivors. Many patients may live with stable disease for much longer, and cancer is now often considered to be a chronic disease. As a consequence, a significant percentage of patient live with persistent pain as a consequence of their cancer and/ or their cancer treatment.

This session will aim to provide an overview of the incidence and causes of pain in adult cancer survivors, describe the patient experience of persistent pain and explore what is important to cancer survivors with persistent pain from a pain management perspective.

Q&A