Managing Cancer Pain: Injections as Part of a Multidisciplinary Treatment Plan

Pain from cancer can be hard to control with standard pain relief options. If you’re undergoing cancer treatment, you may need extra support to help manage your pain levels and get you through each day.

At CHOICE Pain & Rehabilitation Center, with multiple locations in Maryland and Delaware, our providers offer a range of pain management options to help relieve your cancer pain and keep you as mobile and comfortable as possible.

Types of cancer pain

Cancer pain varies based on the type of cancer you have, where it is in your body, and how it affects pain centers in your brain. There are three main types of pain associated with cancer:

Somatic pain

The most common type of pain in patients with cancer is somatic pain caused by bone metastases. This type of pain is often localized to the area of cancer, is often described as an aching, gnawing, throbbing, or cramping pain, and can be intermittent or constant.

Visceral pain

Visceral pain is described as deep squeezing or cramping pain associated with cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, and respiratory systems. This pain is often referred, occurring away from the site of the cancer, such as lung cancer appearing as pain in the shoulder joint.

Neuropathic pain

Many cancer patients live with neuropathic pain, the result of chronic pain requiring connections between the nerves and brain. This pain is clinically described as an intense burning, tingling, or itching sensation accompanied by sharp, shock-like spasms of pain.

Treatments for cancer pain

Many cancer pain treatments are available: 

Nonmedication-based cancer pain therapies

The best pain management plan is multidisciplinary. Nonmedication-based treatments include physical therapy, massage, chiropractic, aromatherapy, relaxation techniques, and biofeedback or imagery therapies.

Combining these therapies with pain medications can yield better results than using treatment plans that include no pain medications or that consist solely of pain medications.

Medication-based cancer pain therapies

Medications for cancer pain can include pain-relieving or anesthetic medications via mouth (oral), patches (skin), or injections. 

Injections can be subcutaneous (under the skin), intramuscular (into the muscle), intravenous (into a vein), intra-articular (into a joint), or epidural (into space around the spinal column).

Injectable medications include opioids, steroids, anesthetics, and combinations of one or more of those. We may inject numbing agents around nerves sending constant pain signals to the brain to create a nerve block and reduce your perception of pain. 

You can have multiple injectable therapies to fight cancer and manage your pain. We use pain relief injections in conjunction with your other injectable cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy and immunotherapy (therapeutic cancer vaccines).

Are you fighting off intermittent or constant chronic cancer pain? We can help with injections that make you more comfortable. Schedule an appointment at CHOICE Pain & Rehabilitation Center today. Call us at 240-786-1001 or request an appointment online.