01 Girl with advanced cancer: "My whole body hurts when I touch it"
My cancer is in an advanced stage, so the pain has been with me since the very beginning of chemotherapy. Because it is an injection, when each drop of medicine enters my body, I can feel it flowing through my body: from the mucous membranes of my mouth, to my esophagus, to my stomach and intestines, and even to my anus, every organ and part of my body is "rupturing". This pain is associated with a sense of tearing, but also a sense of continuity of the flow of water, like a mouthful of water into the mouth to start, where the water flows, the pain will follow where.
The headaches are more prolonged, like riding a roller coaster for days, and the dizziness persists. I was afraid to drink water, didn't want to eat, didn't dare to think about the process of swallowing because even a grain of rice would bring pain, even at the thought of it. Although I was able to go a few days without eating, my stomach actually felt bloated, probably because I was mentally resisting it.
And then there's constipation, which is a symptom almost all chemo patients will have. I can't get it out, it's very painful, it's similar to giving birth to a baby, I think, and I can sweat all over my body, and then I don't have any strength at all, and I'm completely dehydrated.
Because chemotherapy leads to a decrease in white blood cells, I have to take a "white blood injection", after the injection, the bones of the whole body are painful, sitting, standing, lying down, no matter where the body touches the pain, the bones of the whole body are in pain. Radiotherapy also hurts, but the process of radiotherapy does not hurt, but only after radiotherapy, the feeling is like itchy skin do not dare to scratch, even if scratching does not stop the itch ......
02 make the patient "worse than death" of the cancer pain, why is it so strong?
Cancer pain, also known as cancer pain, is a sensation caused by a message to the nerve center that the painful area needs to be repaired or regulated. Poor pain control can cause or aggravate symptoms such as anxiety, depression, fatigue, insomnia, loss of appetite; severely affect patients' daily activities, self-care ability, interaction ability and overall quality of life, and even accelerate tumor development.
In medicine, cancer pain is categorized into mild, moderate and severe pain. Mild pain, which can be understood as the pain felt by ordinary people, can be tolerated, and life and sleep will not be disturbed too much; moderate pain, which cannot be felt by ordinary people, is persistent, and the patient will be in pain so much that he or she does not want to eat and cannot sleep; severe pain, which is a kind of "life is worse than death" feeling, and severe pain will seriously interfere with the patient's diet and sleep. The pain is so severe that it seriously interferes with the patient's diet and sleep, and even aggravates the condition.
So, you have to ask, is cancer pain the same as ordinary people's pain? The answer is definitely different. Physiological pain in healthy people is a protective reaction of the body, a defense mechanism formed by the body to avoid external damage, such as hot water burns your hand, you will feel the pain and immediately shrink your hand back.
Cancer pain is completely different. Cancer pain is a disease in itself, the persistent pain is constantly damaging the nervous system of the human body, the pain not only makes the patient feel uncomfortable and reduces the quality of life, the nervous system is stimulated for a long time, it will also cause lesions in the system itself, which will further bring harm to the patient's body.
03 Experts: injection is not the best way to stop pain
Because of the trend of younger cancer incidence, there are more and more cancer pain patients around 30 years old in the clinic.
For the relief of cancer pain, Yao Wenxiu, director of the Department of Medical Oncology of Sichuan Cancer Hospital, said, "Injections are not the best way to relieve it."
Overly our medical condition is not developed, there are few drugs for cancer pain. Nowadays, there are many medicines for cancer pain, and all of them have a time limit. Usually, doctors will instruct patients to take medicines and what kind of painkillers at what time according to the pain grading, and the symptoms of cancer pain can be alleviated and relieved.
Clinically, according to the grading of cancer pain, a three-step pain relief treatment program is used, and the drugs used are different.
Mild pain can be relieved by conventional ibuprofen, paracetamol, and aspirin.
For moderate pain, weak opioids such as codeine and tramadol can be effective, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can be used in combination to enhance pain relief.
For severe pain, strong opioids such as morphine can relieve symptoms.
Cancer pain causes patients to suffer abnormally, and some may even choose to end their lives. However, under the current social concept, the public cannot accept that each person chooses to end his or her life on his or her own, and it is highly controversial.
At this stage, the legalization of euthanasia is only being implemented in some countries in Western Europe, such as Switzerland. The fact that cancer patients want to be euthanized because they are in pain is a matter for all of society to ponder.