DIFFERENT TYPES OF CANCER TREATMENT
Surgical treatment of cancer pain
When all else fails, pain management calls for the specialised skills of the neurosurgeon . Surgical procedures interrupt the pain pathways by making incisions into various levels of the nervous system. Thus, cordotomy (in which the pain pathways in the spinal cord are interrupted), removal or destruction of the pituitary gland and the destruction of various collections of nerves known as ganglia may be carried out.
All or any of these treatments may be used in the one person at the same or different stages of the disease.
Physical treatments of cancer pain
The physical methods of treatment as discussed in other chapters of this book are also helpful for the pain caused by the cancer itself and also that caused by non-cancerous conditions which may add to the sufffering. Treatments include acupuncture, TENS and conservative physiotherapy methods.
Psychological management
In some cases, psychological methods using imagery, relaxation and hypnosis can give cancer sufferers relief, as can physical therapy and measures such as sympathetic understanding of their thoughts about pain and its effects on them. This can dramatically help put the pain into perspective.
Carl and Stephanie Simonton describe these techniques in their books ‘Getting Well Again’ and ‘The Healing Family’.
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