Cancer pain results from the progress of cancer or as a side effect of cancer treatment. This includes pain from the growth of a tumor or the spread of cancer cells to bone and other tissues, as well as pain following radiation therapy. All cancer patients can experience cancer pain. Types of cancer that are especially prone to spreading to other tissues include breast, prostate, bone, pancreatic and lung cancer.
Studies show that nearly half of all cancer pain in the United States goes untreated.
All cancer pain sufferers should expect to receive treatment to make them as pain-free as possible, and should discuss pain relief with their physicians. When cancerous tumors grow larger or spread to new areas of the body, they invade the space normally occupied by other body tissues. Nerves in the normal tissues respond to pressure from the encroaching tumor by sending pain signals to the brain. Growing tumors can also destroy normal tissue in the area of their expansion. This destruction can alter the body's metabolism in the region, causing chemical abnormalities that trigger the body's pain receptors.