Work together to find the medication or pain-relief program that is best for you. Remember, your need for pain medicine may change as your cancer treatment changes. It is important to record the name and amount of pain medication you take. You can then give precise information to the doctor or nurse about its effect on your pain. Narcotic addiction is defined as dependence on the regular use of narcotics to satisfy physical, emotional, and psychological needs rather than for medical reasons.
Pain relief is a medical reason for taking narcotics.
If you and your doctor decide that narcotics are a proper choice for your pain relief, use them as directed. Addiction is a very common fear of people who take narcotics for pain relief. Narcotic addiction is an emotionally charged subject. Drug addiction in cancer patients is rare. Generally, when narcotics are used under proper medical supervision the chance of addiction is very small.