Pain Management
Young women diagnosed with breast cancer often face the extra challenge of pain. Remember: not every persistent pain means a cancer recurrence.
Causes of Breast Cancer Pain
Pain can result from a number of causes including:
- Scarring and the overall healing process
- Treatment side effects, like neuropathy
- Fatigue
If you’re facing pain, you don’t have to “tough it out.” Talk to your healthcare team, and work with them to find a cause and a solution.
Coping with Pain
These tips can help you cope with any pain you may be experiencing:
- Talk with your doctor, and make sure they know how much it hurts. Use the 0 to 10 pain scale, where zero means no pain and 10 means the worst pain. Tell your doctor exactly where it hurts, when it hurts and what the pain feels like. Also, share any medications you’ve taken or other remedies you’ve tried.
- Use a pain diary (a log of your pain occurrences) to keep track of your pain. Our Health and Side Effect Diary can help you get started.
- Ask to meet with a pain or palliative care specialist. They can include oncologists, anesthesiologists, neurologists, neurosurgeons, nurses or pharmacists and can offer you expert advice on controlling your pain.
- Take advantage of all your options and explore various approaches—prescription medication, acupuncture, meditation, relaxation techniques and physical therapy, to name a few.
- If you have insurance, make sure you know what your insurance company will cover.
Related Topics
Bone Health
Some cancer treatments make your bones more fragile, but there are proactive ways to keep them strong. Find out how to protect your bone health.
Chemo Brain
Many women report what they call "chemo brain" as a side effect of chemotherapy. It can include forgetfulness and feeling foggy, and it feels frustrating. Read some tips for making your brain clearer and more alert.
Early Menopause
Most young women don't expect to go into menopause at this stage in their lives. The side effects can be challenging, but there are ways to alleviate the symptoms.
Fatigue
Breast cancer treatment can cause fatigue in both the long and short-term. You don't need to accept it as par for the course, though. There are things you can do to feel more energized and healthy.