Healthy Tips

Patients with advanced cancer often have pain as their chief complaint. Although advances in cancer treatment have lengthened survival among cancer patients, cancer pain remains under treated in patients. It has been estimated that 25% of all cancer patients who die, do so without adequate pain relief, despite the fact that the tools for adequate pain control are available. With advanced disease, 90% of patients with cancer require strong opiates to control their pain. However, many physicians remain concerned about inadvertently making a patient an addict if they prescribe narcotics to treat pain. Cultural and attitudinal barriers, knowledge deficits among health care professionals, and the influence of state and federal drug regulatory agencies also contribute to the fact that the pain experienced by cancer patients, all too often, is under-treated.

Cancer pain is classified according to pain duration and quality. Duration of pain can denote the acute or chronic nature of pain. It is common to experience anxiety, apprehension and depression in patients with cancer pain. The types of pain most commonly experienced by cancer patients are:

- Acute cancer related pain

- Chronic cancer related pain

- Pain unrelated to cancer

- Pain in opiod tolerant cancer patients

- End of life pain

After an appropriate medical history review and a physical, a pain physician will tailor a suitable pain treatment program. Because everyone has a different response to medications and therapies, the other types of drugs with pain relievers. They include anti-inflammatory steroids, anticonvulsants, and antidepressants. These drugs may be effective treatments for specific types of pain or pain with specific causes. For example, the doctor may prescribe antidepressants to help relieve certain types of pain. However, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the patient is suffering from depression. Similarly, steroids often are effective in relieving pain associated with inflammation.

Cancer pain can be controlled effectively through therapies already available today. Pain treatments range from mild, nonprescription pain relievers, to stronger prescription medications, to neurological surgery, to alternative therapies such as relaxation, biofeedback, guided imagery, and acupuncture.

Oncologists and pain specialists can devise a treatment plan based on the type and severity of pain, side effects, and how the patient responds to the treatment. Some common approaches to treat cancer pain include:

1. Oral Medicines- Aspirin & NSAIDs, Opiods, Adjuvants

2. Intravenous drugs

3. Transdermal drug delivery systems

4. Nerve blocks

5. Interthecal drug pumps

6. Neuroablstive procedures

Although they have cancer pain, many patients are afraid of getting addicted to pain medicines. When cancer pain medicines are given and taken in the right way, patients rarely become addicted to them. To be sure, they should talk to the doctor, nurse, or pharmacist about how to use pain medications safely. Many patients only need pain medicines for a time, until the cause of the pain goes away due to other treatments like chemotherapy, radiotherapy or surgery. When they are ready to stop taking the medicine, the doctor gradually lowers the amount of medicine they take. By the time they stop using it completely, the body has had time to adjust. Some patients will need to take pain medicines for the long-term. Taking medicines regularly should not make patients feel like an “addict.”

Physical dependence, tolerance to medication and addiction are three different issues in people treated with strong pain medications. The patient’s physician can explain the subtle but important difference between them. It’s often easier to control pain in its early stages, because it becomes severe. Therefore, it is better for cancer pain patients to ask for adequate pain relief.

A primary care physician or oncologist can help explain the possible options for pain relief and can make a referral, when necessary, to a pain medicine specialist for optimal pain management.

About Walton Rehabilitation Health System:

Walton Rehabilitation Health Systems (WRHS) is a leading not-for-profit comprehensive, multi-specialty, dedicated provider of physical medicine and rehabilitation. Our mission is to be an advocate for wellness by providing a continuum of services to treat the whole person. WRHS, whose reputation extends throughout the south, is a trusted partner with just the right expertise and treatments to help people with disabling injuries and illnesses return to work and to a fulfilling life. By pursuing its mission, WRHS has grown to include Walton Pain and Headache Centers, Walton Community Services, Walton Options for Independent Living, Walton Foundation for Independence, and Walton Technologies. We are located at: 1355 Independence Drive, Augusta, GA 30901-1037. For more information visit www.wrh.org or call 866-4-WALTON.

Pain control is usually something cancer patients have to practice when going through treatments. Pain can be generated from the cancer itself or it can be generated from an outside source, such as arthritis. Managing your pain can help you gain better control over your cancer diagnosis.

Pain can be acute or chronic. Acute pain is severe, but short-lived and chronic is pain that lasts for longer periods of time, and can range from mild to severe. Sometimes patients will experience breakthrough pain, which is pain that breaks through medications prescribed to the patient.

According to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network’s (NCCN) August 2005 pain prevention report, one-third of cancer patients experience pain with their treatments. The NCCN also reports that nearly two-thirds of patients with recurring cancer or advanced stages of cancer experience pain.

Pain control is possible, even for those suffering from cancer, and it can give a patient a better quality of life. Pain in cancer patients is most often a result of the cancer itself, but sometimes it can result from a specific treatment, such as radiation therapy. Pain can be relieved through several ways.

For example, pain control can be through medications, relaxation methods, acupuncture or mental therapy sessions. Each patient is unique and pain can be evaluated through a cancer team made up of specialists such as an oncologist, anesthesiologist, pain specialists and your physician.

It is important for you to discuss any pain you experience with your doctor or medical professional so they can figure out what methods would work best for you. The earlier pain is ministered to, the easier it will be to handle it during your cancer treatments. If you experience pain that is unrelated to your cancer diagnosis, it is important to find the best method to stop the pain before beginning your treatment.

For example, arthritis pain prevention can be found through physical therapy sessions, water therapy or oral medications. If a patient suffers from cancer in the spinal cord, he or she may need to learn about back and neck pain control. This type of pain occurs because the cancer causes the spinal cord to compress, causing sharp pains in the back and neck regions.

Finding the proper method can help you with pain control, especially when you suffer from cancer. With the advancements in medical technology, a slew of medications are available to patients suffering from continual aches, twinges and throbbing. Some patients experience breakthrough pain, which can be treated with prescription-strength morphine.

Other patients experience extreme episodes of tingling and burning sensations, and doctors usually treat these symptoms with antidepressants or anti-seizure medications. There is always the possibility of experiencing vomiting, dizziness or acute fatigue with these medications. Your doctor can help find ways to handle them, such as therapy sessions with a counselor. Many times it is up to the patient to help their medical practitioner find out what is causing the pain by keeping notes each time it occurs.

Managing pain control with cancer is not a figment of one’s imagination. In fact, the hurt that accompanies cancer and its treatments can be controlled with the proper medication or therapy.

Discussing any ache or soreness in your body with a physician will put you on the path to a smoother, more tolerable recovery from cancer.

Pain control is a common issue when you are dealing with cancer patients. Most of the time the pain is caused from a tumor, but there is the chance pain begins somewhere other than the cancer itself. Surviving cancer and the treatments needed beat cancer can be extremely difficult, especially when excruciating pain accompanies the situation. Finding a way to manage the pain of cancer can help an individual persevere through the ordeal.

Pain can be acute or chronic. Acute pain is severe, but short-lived and chronic is pain that lasts for longer periods of time, and can range from mild to severe. Sometimes patients will experience breakthrough pain, which is pain that breaks through medications prescribed to the patient.

According to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network’s (NCCN) August 2005 pain prevention report, one-third of cancer patients experience pain with their treatments. The NCCN also reports that nearly two-thirds of patients with recurring cancer or advanced stages of cancer experience pain.

Pain control is possible, even for those suffering from cancer, and it can give a patient a better quality of life. Pain in cancer patients is most often a result of the cancer itself, but sometimes it can result from a specific treatment, such as radiation therapy.

Pain can be relieved through several ways. For example, pain control can be through medications, relaxation methods, acupuncture or mental therapy sessions. Each patient is unique and pain can be evaluated through a cancer team made up of specialists such as an oncologist, anesthesiologist, pain specialists and your physician.

It is important for you to discuss any pain you experience with your doctor or medical professional so they can figure out what methods would work best for you. The earlier pain is ministered to, the easier it will be to handle it during your cancer treatments.

If you experience pain that is unrelated to your cancer diagnosis, it is important to find the best method to stop the pain before beginning your treatment. For example, arthritis pain prevention can be found through physical therapy sessions, water therapy or oral medications.

If a patient suffers from cancer in the spinal cord, he or she may need to learn about back and neck pain control. This type of pain occurs because the cancer causes the spinal cord to compress, causing sharp pains in the back and neck regions.

Pain control means finding a way for you to live a functional life, especially when you are trying to battle cancer. There are several methods used today to help alleviate pain in patients. The National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) web site discusses medicines used to alleviate pain, such as antidepressants, morphine or over-the-counter pain relievers.

The NCI also mention certain treatments that don’t involve medications. These methods use massages, acupuncture treatments, rhythmic breathing and biofeedback to find a solution for a patient’s pain. All of these treatments can assist with treating swelling or severe aches often associated with cancer.

Every individual is different, and their bodies are going to react differently to medication and therapy. You should always inform your doctor of recurring pain so he or she can give you advice given on finding a pain-relieving treatment that fits your particular situation.

Your doctor can find a means to administer pain control when you are taking treatments for cancer. All that is needed is some basic information from you about where the pain is and how long it lasts. Fighting cancer does not have to be a never ending uphill battle. Instead, it can be made a more manageable experience thanks to proper medications and therapies administered by a physician.

Emotions. Emotions! EMOTIONS!! Cancer and emotions – what a potentially dangerous combination.

Why?

Think about it, not only do you have to deal with finding out you have cancer but you also have to deal with your emotions and the emotions of people around you. It can be overwhelming! Not to mention very stressful.

First off, there isn’t much cancer information about dealing with your emotions. And right now you don’t need more stress in your life because this further burdens your immune system.

So, where do you start?

Let’s start at the beginning. Your sub-conscious mind is the feeling part of you – the emotional part of you. This is the part of you that can wreak havoc in your life if you don’t take charge of it.

First of all, you must recognize there is a scale of emotions. Next, you must learn how to control your emotions. And lastly, you need to know how to move up the scale of emotions.

The scale of emotions ranges from best to worse – from pure joy and love all the way down to fear, grief and depression.

Every single experience of our lives includes emotions. Each experience doesn’t touch on every point of the scale of emotions. All experiences are different. And everybody is different – we don’t all react the same way. Nor do you react the same way every time you have the same experience.

You can experience something today and react by totally losing it. Tomorrow you can have the same experience and not react at all. This doesn’t necessarily mean you have learnt something from the previous day’s experience. You may not have. You may just be too tired to react or simply no longer care about the situation.

When it comes to you and your cancer, where do you want to be on the scale of emotions? It seems like a silly question, doesn’t it? But it does bear out the fact that most of us have never thought about this question before.

Here’s some cancer information for you – if you don’t know that the scale of emotions exist, then how could you ever move up the cancer scale of emotions? And if you don’t have a target to aim for, then how would you ever achieve it?

What about this startling piece of cancer information – today I can categorically say that I am happy about my cancer experience! How is that possible you might ask? Well, it’s like this. I learned many amazing things about myself during my cancer experience.

I learned that I have courage. I learned that I can focus on and achieve the goals I set for myself about my future. And, most importantly, I learned that I had strength of character.

I truly never realized that I possessed these qualities. And yes – if you haven’t already guessed – I had unresolved emotional issues like lack of self worth.

I never truly realized what I was capable of. So when the ‘test’ of cancer came along I swore I’d beat it. And beat it I did. That’s what I learned about myself. I learned that I was able to raise myself up, make a decision, and succeed.

For me cancer was such a life changing experience. But make no mistake, this was for the better! If cancer didn’t happen to me, I’d still be a “walking generality” – going nowhere!

Inadvertently, cancer gave my life direction. I am able to say this now.

This wasn’t always the case however. In the beginning, I started way down at the bottom end of the scale of emotions at depression. Over time I was able to lift myself up and now I’m happy with my experience. I’m happy because I realise the result of the cancer experience has been a huge positive in my life.

Am I saying this was such a good experience that I would choose to have cancer again? That’s a resounding NO! Once was enough, thank you. I learnt from the cancer experience the first time.

Effectively dealing with emotions and feelings is something we were never taught at school. You might say we learned it from social conditioning, from our parents and teachers. But often the results of these childhood experiences were that we learned how to suppress our feelings and emotions.

What you need to do is feel better about your experiences, even slightly better. And to maintain this new point of reference until you move up to a better feeling. Notice I didn’t say the aim is to make you feel good right now, about your cancer experience. That will come in time.

Have you learned anything about yourself during your cancer experience? Has the experience given your life new direction? New meaning? What pearls of wisdom have you gleaned from cancer?

Feeling better relates to you and only to you. You cannot control other people. So, dealing with your loved ones emotions’ can sometimes be more trying than your own. It can be more difficult because you certainly can’t change the way other people think.

Here’s a case in point. When I was diagnosed with cancer, relatives often asked – almost insisted – that my wife, Barbara, assure them that I would be okay and that everything would be fine. Note this was never asked of me.

You see, when there is crisis in the family, many look around to the strongest person to support them emotionally. In this case Barbara was perceived as the strongest (outside of myself) and relatives turned to her for comfort and support.

But they did this without realizing that Barbara may have needed support herself. You must understand that finding out a loved one has cancer is devastating for all involved.

Not everyone is able to lend support in a meaningful way to those who need it. Not everyone is able to be positive or even just maintain a ‘neutral’ attitude. Not everyone is able to rise to the occasion. It’s unfortunate. But that is just the way life is sometimes. Nobody is perfect.

”But if only they would ……..if only they could……..why can’t they…..”. This sort of thinking only increases your own emotional stress. So don’t think this way, it doesn’t serve you. And it doesn’t help your wellbeing. Accept people for where they are at. They are doing the best they can.

Realize that others around you are also hurting. Understand that others may not be able to support you. Understand that you may have to support them. It may not be fair. Some days you may struggle to support yourself. That’s okay. But recognize that everybody is in emotional pain.

Tell the people around you, how you are feeling. Tell them that you love them. Communication can help to relieve and reduce the stress involved with cancer and the fear of the unknown. And that goes for everybody involved. Let’s face it, nobody wants to lose you. And worse still, nobody wants to deal with the experience either.

That’s what my wife and I experienced and that’s what we learned. And now we teach others how to do the same.

Now is the time to be patient with everybody. Including yourself. Love yourself and love others. Learn from your experience. Embrace the learning. And know that the people around you do love you. They aren’t perfect but they do love you.

If you suffer from breast pain, cysts, or lumps, and fear developing breast cancer, you can participate in an international Breast Cancer Prevention Project.

This project has shown a 95 percent success rate in improving breast health. After years of suffering from breast pain and cysts, many participants have found phenomenal improvement within days of starting this program. It is cost-free, risk-free, and is the best thing you can do to prevent breast cancer, as well. It all has to do with the cultural practice of wearing tight bras, and the effect this has on the circulation within the breasts.

Why would bras be linked to breast disease and cancer? It has to do with the effect of bras on breast circulation, specifically the effect of bras on the lymphatic system.

It is the bloodstream’s job to deliver fresh, oxygenated fluid to the tissues and to remove carbon dioxide. It is the lymphatic system’s job to remove fluid, called lymph, from the tissue spaces, along with debris, viruses, cancer cells, bacteria, toxins, and other unwanted material. The lymphatic system consists of microscopic vessels that originate in the tissue space and lead to larger, but still tiny, vessels that ultimately enter a lymph node. These nodes are bean-sized filters lined by white blood cells. Most of the breast’s lymph nodes are in the armpit. If the nodes detect a virus, cancer cell, or other foreign or hazardous substance in the tissue fluid, they begin an immune response of producing white blood cells to combat the problem. Once through the lymph node the fluid works its way through larger lymphatic vessels back to the heart and the bloodstream.

One important fact about the lymphatic system is that it is a passive drainage system. While the bloodstream delivers fluid under the pumping pressure of the heart, the lymphatic system has no pressure. Its flow is influenced by gravity, breathing, exercise and movement, and massage. And the slightest constriction or compression of the tissue can close the tiny lymphatic vessels down, inhibiting lymph flow and leading to fluid accumulation, cysts, pain, and tenderness. This fluid congestion within the tissue is called lymphedema.

Women who have fibrocystic breast disease essentially have lymphedema of the breast. Its cause, we discovered, is the impairment of lymphatic flow by pressure from the bra. Bras are elastic garments that exert constant pressure on the breast tissue. Their purpose is to push the breasts into a more fashionable shape. Yet, this pressure can cut down on flow within the lymphatic system, reducing its ability to remove fluid and toxins from the breast tissue.

The toxins that are within the breast tissue include some biochemical products of tissue edema, such as free radicals, which are known to cause cancer. In addition, there are also toxins in our air, food and water, including pesticides, herbicides, heavy metals, and other products of our petrochemically polluted world. Many of these are known to cause cancer. We deliver these toxins to all our tissues each day through the bloodstream. It is the job of the lymphatics to remove these toxins. And it is this job that the bra inhibits by its compression and constriction of the breasts.

This is how bras cause breast cancer. Cancer causing toxins are delivered to the breast tissue by the bloodstream, and are kept there by the bra. The toxins are the bullets. The bra holds them in place, pointed directly at the breasts.

This explains why women have more cancer in the breast than elsewhere in their bodies. The breasts are the most clothing constricted of any organ. It also explains why women have more breast cancer than men, and why breast cancer is only a problem in cultures in which bras are worn. Where there are no bras, there is virtually no breast cancer.

We had written about this, and the results of our 1991-93 Bra and Breast Cancer Study, in our book Dressed To Kill: The Link Between Breast Cancer and Bras (ISCD Press). Our study was conducted on approximately 4700 U.S. women, about half of whom had breast cancer. We asked these women about their past bra-wearing attitudes and habits. What we discovered was that the women in the cancer group had a history of wearing bras tighter and longer than did the non-cancer group. In fact, many women in the cancer group slept with their bras on. Almost none were bra-free. This differed greatly from the non-cancer group.

When the results were analyzed, they revealed that women who wear bras over 12 hours daily have a dramatically increased risk of developing breast cancer compared to bra-free women. In fact, bra-free women have about the same chances of developing breast cancer as men have, and this is over 100 times less than that for women wearing bras 18-24 hours daily. When you consider that smoking increases the incidence of lung cancer 20-30 times, this makes the link between breast cancer and bras 4-5 times greater than the link between cigarettes and lung cancer!

Of course, the easiest way for a woman to determine if her own bra is damaging her breasts is to go without a bra for a while and feel the difference. That is what the Breast Cancer Prevention Project is about. You simply have to commit to being bra-free for one month. Your body will tell you the results.

For the thousands of women who have tried this, the results are spectacular. Having bound their breasts since puberty, the feeling of breast freedom sometimes may seem strange at first. But within days, the breasts have their chance to drain of congestion and excess fluid. Tenderness ends. Menstrual breast pain may disappear altogether. Cysts vanish. It’s like a miracle.

Interestingly, some women have become so conditioned to wearing a bra that they feel uncomfortable without one. That is because their breasts have become reliant on the bra for support, causing the loss of function of the musculature and ligaments that normally support the breasts. In other words, bras cause the breasts to be weak and droop. There are many large breasted women of all ages who have firm, healthy, trouble-free breasts because they have never worn a bra.

The congestion of the breasts by the bra also increases breast weight, since the breasts are essentially swollen by edema. This can cause the breasts to feel painful when the bra is removed. Fortunately, once the bra is no longer worn, the breasts can decongest and can develop their tone again. Many women reported that their breasts lifted up within months of ending the bra habit.

So here’s your challenge. Find a cotton or silk camisole or T-shirt that you feel comfortable in, get rid of your bra, and give your breasts a month without being bound. Then let us know your results. If you need more information see our website www.SelfStudyCenter.org. You can also register for this study directly on our website.

The cause of breast cancer must be eliminated if the breast cancer epidemic is to end. It should have been clear decades ago that breast binding could lead to cancer and other breast diseases. However, a culture is never objective about its own foibles. And with a cancer industry making lots of money treating breast cancer, and a fashion industry making lots of money selling bras, there is great financial incentive in keeping women wearing bras, and then in treating their breast disease when it happens.

SEND RESULTS TO: Institute for the Study of Culturogenic Disease P.O. BOX 1880 PAHOA, HAWAII 96778 808-935-5563