People taking narcotic pain medicine may also need to take a stool softener. Surgery, which may be used to remove a tumor, may itself cause pain either directly from cutting and injuring tissues, or indirectly by causing scar tissue formation. The prevalence and severity of pain are difficult to assess for a number of reasons. First, pain is subjective. There is no objective test or study that can measure how much pain a person is experiencing.
Physicians simply have to accept that patients are in as much pain as they say they are.
Second, some people tend to underreport their pain. When they're at their doctor's office, their attention is focused on the extent of their disease, recent study results, and new treatment plans and many people simply don't mention whether or not they are in pain if not asked directly. Third, different people describe things differently. Or the same person might describe his or her pain differently on two different days. There are cultural difference in how pain is tolerated, and pain can be exacerbated by anxiety and other indirect factors.