Breast Cancer Awareness Includes Being Informed About Possible Chronic Pain

With October dedicated to Breast Cancer Awareness, many people ask, “Is there a link between cancer treatment and chronic pain?” and “Is it possible I will have chronic pain following my cancer treatment?”

According to a study conducted in Norway of survivors, 25%-60% of women treated for breast cancer, regardless of the stage, experience pain. The goal of the research was to investigate the medical factors associated with this chronic pain. The study compared breast cancer 1332 survivors with chronic pain to survivors without chronic pain looking at the prevalence, intensity, and body location of chronic pain after treatment.

The results showed a 41% reported pain -- 51% with mild, 41% moderate, and 8% severe pain. Among the women who experienced pain, 33.8% reported symptoms and signs of neuropathic pain. Young age, axillary lymph node dissection with subsequent chemotherapy and radiotherapy, other illness that caused pain, depression and anxiety were found to be associated with their chronic pain.

Similarly, researchers from Mount Sinai, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, University of Virginia, and the American Cancer Society found that 34% of cancer survivors reported chronic pain issues. That is nearly double the pain rate reported by the general US population.

In fact, in terms of long-term side effects from cancer treatment, chronic pain is one of the most common. This link between cancer and pain is also tied to survivors experiencing lower quality of life, less likelihood of following treatment schedules, and higher health care costs. The American Cancer Society study looked to divide chronic pain into two types: chronic pain and high impact chronic pain. Chronic pain was defined for the study as having pain on most days or every day in the past 6 months. However, high impact chronic pain is established as pain severe enough to limit daily activities.

As previously mentioned, 34% of cancer survivors reported chronic pain issues. One in 6, or 16%, of cancer survivors reported high impact chronic pain. But there was no link between the time since diagnosis and either type of chronic pain. 

Unfortunately, the study also found that some patients are not getting the information from their doctors to help them cope with these pain side-effects. Specifically, 30% to 50% of patients with breast or colorectal cancer said they either did not have these conversations with their doctors, or did not get advice about subsequent pain, fatigue or emotional distress resulting from their cancer treatments. In fact, of 2,487 surveys from 17 cancer centers across the US, it was found that 61% of respondents experienced pain and only 58% received the help they needed.

Awareness should not end when treatment concludes. Unfortunately, even when treatment has concluded, and you are deemed “cancer free” there can be residual problems. If you are a breast cancer survivor and are experiencing what you believe to be chronic pain side effects, due to your treatment, talk to your doctor or schedule an appointment with a pain management specialist.