Bladder cancer is a very serious disease that can cause numerous symptoms, many of which involve some level of pain. Treatments for this form of cancer are rigorous and intense, but they are essential to helping you regain your health and eliminate the pain associated with the disease.
Definition
Bladder cancer is a type of cancer that causes tumors to grow in the bladder, in the wall of the bladder, or along the urinary tract. Bladder cancer pain comes in one of two forms--either acute or chronic. Acute pain can be successfully managed with pain relievers and medications. Chronic pain is difficult to manage, which can lead to depression and a diminished quality of life.
Bladder Cancer Symptoms
Bladder cancer can cause a variety of symptoms. Blood in the urine is the most prominent. Other signs include an intense urgency to urinate, or to urinate frequently, even though little to no urine is expelled; feelings of pain or burning during urination; and pain in the lower back. It's important to note that all of these symptoms may be signs of something far less severe, like a urinary tract infection. Consulting with your doctor is vital for obtaining a proper diagnosis.
Causes of Pain
The pain you experience from bladder cancer and its severity will depend on how far along the disease has progressed, its location, and whether or not it has metastasized. Cancer treatments like chemotherapy and radiation can cause pain as well.
Managing Pain
Treating the pain that goes along with bladder cancer will depend on your personal needs. The most common way to treat bladder cancer pain is with analgesics. Popular drug choices include fentanyl citrate, morphine sulfate, and fentanyl buccal tablet. These are often used in conjunction with chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Addiction to these medications is a real risk, but by staying under a doctor's close watch with strict dosing, the benefits outweigh the risks. Other drugs can be used to make analgesics work better or to change how you perceive pain, such as endorphin boosters or drugs that block neurotransmitters so your body doesn't process the signal that you're in pain. Radiation and surgery are sometimes used as well to reduce the size of tumors, and thus reduce the pain they cause.
Coping with Pain
Treating bladder cancer pain doesn't stop with just taking pills. Rather, therapeutic techniques are employed to change how you perceive pain and to improve your qualify of life. Sessions with a behavioral psychologist, as well as biofeedback, a process wherein you learn control automatic bodily functions like heart rate, temperature, and blood pressure, may be used to modify how you think about pain and how you experience it. It is also important to continue a to lead normal life as much as possible. Taking your mind off of the pain with activities can help make dealing with it easier.
Tags: bladder cancer, Bladder cancer, cancer pain, Bladder Cancer, change perceive, change perceive pain
