Pain therapy

About one third of patients undergoing treatment for cancer experience pain. For these patients, pain therapy and cancer treatment go in hand in hand. . If the disease is far advanced, more than two-thirds of patients suffer from pain. In these cases, the alleviation of pain and other complaints becomes the primary treatment target.

Because pain as a subjective sensation affects the patient as a whole, treatment has to take full account of the physical, psychological, social and spiritual dimensions of pain. In the Tumour Biology Centre, this insight guides the cooperation between medical and nursing care, psychology, art therapists, physiotherapy, diagnostics, pastoral care and nutrition with pain therapy. In addition, GPs and mobile nursing services are also included. This multi-dimensional treatment concept permits a high percentage of pain relief.

Pain therapy in the Tumour Biology Centre

The Pain Therapy Unit offers a consultation service which is available to the entire Tumour Biology Centre Available and is mainly concerned with therapeutic tasks. The service maintains intensive contacts between various groups of therapists, works closely with the Medical Centre's pharmacy and, if required, with mobile care services and GPs of patients who have been discharged.

Pain assessment and clarification of causes

Detailed and comprehensive clarification of causes

Consideration of physical, psychological, social and spiritual influences in a holistic understanding of a person in his/her illness.

Step-by-step approach to pain treatment

• treatment of causes as far as possible
• registration and acceptance of pain in its various dimensions
• individual treatment
• step-by-step approach
• informing the patient about the effect of individual drugs and their side effects
• alleviation of discomforts, such as constipation, nausea and other impairments
• restoration of independence
• involvement of family and friends
• regular administration of pain relief
• additional pain relief for breakthrough pain
• combination of different drugs with different effective principles
• administration in form of tablets, wherever possible, particularly of long-acting analgesics (e.g. delayed-action drugs)
• in case of difficulties in swallowing, nausea and vomiting administration via portable pumps
• written instructions for use for patients and their families

Additional therapeutic procedures

• transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS)
• acupuncture
• nerve blocks