Pain from cancer is inevitable especially during the late stages. But unexplained first time pain or a feeling of discomfort is usually one of the early symptoms of only a few types of cancers such as brain or bone. This is because malignant tumors do not have any nerves of their own.
What is pain? According to Margo McCaffrey, MSN,RN, FAAN, "It is whatever the experiencing person says it is, and exists whenever he says it does." That's why it is a symptom.
Existence of unexplained first time pain may not necessarily mean you have cancer. But it may also be one of the early symptoms depending on the kind of ache you have.
There are two kinds of pain:
1. Acute pain is an effect of an injury and is apt to last only a short time.
2. Chronic is the kind of pain that continues for a long time even after the injury is treated. It is caused by changes in the nerves.
Unexplained discomfort associated with malignant tumors is the chronic type. Pain from cancer may differ because of the body tissue it arises from.
Types of Pain from Cancer
There are different kinds of pain depending on the type and stage of your cancer. Various types include...
Nerve pain - It is caused by pressure on nerves or the spinal cord, or by damage to nerves. The medical term for it is neuropathic pain.
Unexplained nerve discomfort is described as a burning or a feeling of something crawling under the skin. You can have a hard time describing exactly how it feels. It can sometimes be more difficult to treat this ache than other types.
Bone pain - It is usually one of the first symptoms in bone cancer. The tumor may either affect one specific area of the bone or several areas at a time. The tumor may have damaged the bone tissue thus causing the pain or discomfort.
It is also often described as dull, aching or throbbing.
Soft tissue pain - It arises from the organ where a tissue damage has occurred. Examples are unexplained persistent headache that does not respond to treatment.
It may be one of the first symptoms of brain tumor and a nagging discomfort in your back may be a symptom of cancer in the ovary, colon or rectum.
It is described as sharp, throbbing and aching.
Physical aches can be common among people who suffer from cancer but not everyone with the disease will feel discomfort at first. When you have cancer and you feel pain, it is almost always an indication of a malignant tumor that has already metastasized.
