Pain control

Women having surgery for breast cancer are up to three times more likely to have severe pain in the first week after surgery if they suffer from other painful conditions, such as arthritis, low back pain and migraine, according to a Cancer Research UK study published today (Wednesday) in the British Journal of Cancer.

Giving cancer patients information on how to deal with their pain and manage their medicine can result in a 20 per cent improvement in pain control, according to research presented at the NCRI Cancer Conference in Birmingham.