Adolescent Substance Abuse Articles
Study: Cancer pain prevalent in women and African Americans
By Staff Writer
Chronic pain is known to accompany a cancer diagnosis. The University of Michigan Health System recently conducted a study to shed more light on the relationship between cancer and the pain it causes.
Based on the study's results, which will appear in the American Cancer Society's journal Cancer, more than 40 percent of the patients studied experienced pain since they were diagnosed with the disease. Of the nearly 200 patients who were surveyed, women and African Americans were shown to experience the worst pain.
Female patients experienced increased pain according to the survey results, in addition to more pain flares, disability and depression. For almost 54 percent of Caucasians, cancer surgery was the most significant source of pain, while for 46 percent of African Americans, it was treatment. In addition, this demographic reported higher levels of pain severity and showed more concern toward the possible side effects of pain treatment.
The researchers felt that concerns about treatment side effects, such as addiction, or fears that pain is a sign that the cancer has become more severe, may lead patients to make less complaints about their pain. This information has led the researchers to believe that there is more work to be done in terms of chronic pain treatment for cancer patients and survivors.
