What to do with advanced pain in lung cancer?

Generally speaking, lung cancer develops to an advanced stage, and many patients will have chest pain or back pain. Pain is one of the most common and unbearable symptoms of lung cancer patients, which seriously affects the quality of life of patients. If pain cannot be controlled in a timely and effective manner, patients often feel extreme discomfort, which may cause or aggravate symptoms such as anxiety, depression, fatigue, insomnia, and loss of appetite, and significantly affect the patient’s daily activities, self-care ability, social interactions and overall life quality. Sometimes the pain is severe, and many patients suffer from long-term pain and even have suicidal tendencies. Therefore, analgesia plays an important role in cancer treatment. Pain in patients with lung cancer is caused by many factors, such as cancer cells infiltrating or invading adjacent blood vessels, nerves, lymphatic vessels, soft tissues, internal organs and bone tissues, which compress or stimulate them, thereby causing pain. Or some chemicals produced by the tumor itself, tumor metabolites, necrotic tissue breakdown products, etc. stimulate pain receptors to produce pain.

What is the cause of lung cancer pain?

(1) Tumor aggressive pain

Mild chest pain is often the first symptom of lung cancer. Pain can be limited to a certain part of the chest and shoulders, often without tenderness. Severe chest pain is common in advanced lung cancer, and the location of the chest pain may be inconsistent with the location of the tumor. For example, lung cancer on the right side may appear on the left side. The chest pain symptoms of lung cancer are not characteristic. When the tumor grows near the pleura, it produces irregular dull or dull pain, may not have a clear fixed location, and is inconsistent with the tumor site. When the cancer directly invades the pleura, sharp chest pain will occur, which is aggravated by breathing and coughing. When the tumor compresses the intercostal nerves, chest pain can involve the affected areas.

(2) Tumor compression pain

Compression of the brachial plexus by the tumor can cause dull pain in the ipsilateral shoulder joint, paravertebral pain, elbow pain, burning pain and paresthesia in the little finger and ring finger. Tumors such as superior lung cancer can cause shoulder and paravertebral soreness and thoracic and rib tingling. When the intercostal nerve is compressed, it can cause intercostal neuralgia.

(3) Pain from tumor metastasis

1. Lymph node metastasis

When the tumor metastasizes to the mediastinal lymph nodes, such as compression of the superior vena cava, the superior vena cava restriction syndrome occurs, which can lead to headache; when the tumor metastasizes to the cervical lymph nodes, it can compress the cervical sympathetic nerve and brachial plexus nerve, resulting in cervical sympathy Nerve syndrome and brachial plexus compression signs, see ipsilateral shoulder joints, upper limbs medial paresthesia and radioactive severe pain.

3. Bone metastasis

Bone metastasis is a common symptom of advanced lung cancer. There is no symptom in the early stage of bone metastasis, and the late stage shows local intractable pain with fixed tender points. Bone metastasis can lead to osteolysis and pathological fractures, causing pain to the patient, reducing the quality of life and shortening the survival period. In particular, small cell lung cancer and poorly differentiated non-small cell lung cancer often occur in the axial bones, mainly the spine, flank and pelvis. For example, chest pain caused by rib metastasis of lung cancer is mostly manifested as a localized chest wall pain with clear tender points. Spinal cord metastasis causes pain in the center of the back or at the lesion, while bone metastases in the limbs or trunk cause localized pain in this area. Tumor metastasis to the body’s weight-bearing bones such as the cervical spine, thoracic spine, lumbar spine and other parts can cause serious consequences of paralysis. Therefore, patients with bone metastases from lung cancer should be treated promptly. Phosphate drugs such as bone phosphorus, Bonin, and Alta can resist the osteolytic effect of metastatic bone tumors and reduce the risk of pathological fractures. Radiation therapy can relieve pain, kill cancer cells, and control the development of lesions. The pain of some patients can be completely relieved after radiotherapy, and the pain of some patients can be significantly reduced.

Treatment of lung cancer and chest pain

The treatment of lung cancer chest pain should be based on the cause of the treatment, that is, the cause of cancer pain should be treated. The main cause of cancer pain is the cancer itself or complications; targeted anti-cancer treatment, including surgery and chemotherapy , Chinese medicine treatment, etc., only in this way can it be possible to reduce or relieve cancer pain.

1. Chinese medicine treatment to relieve pain

One, decoction

The decoction has the characteristics of quick effect and can relieve pain in a short time.

Traditional Chinese medicine divides lung cancer pain into six syndrome types: wind-cold obstruction, stagnation of qi, phlegm-dampness, heat toxin, blood stasis, and deficiency and cold. Each type has different prescriptions for decoctions and proprietary Chinese medicines, which are prescribed by the doctor according to the condition. .

Second, commonly used anti-cancer and analgesic Chinese patent medicines

Liushen Pill: It has the effects of clearing away heat, detoxifying, reducing swelling and relieving pain, and is effective for mild to moderate cancer pain.

Xiaojin Dan: It has the effects of promoting blood circulation and relieving pain, detoxification and reducing swelling, and is effective for mild to moderate pain.

Xihuang Wan: It has the effects of clearing away heat, detoxifying, reducing swelling and relieving pain, and is often the first choice for liver cancer pain.

Yunnan Baiyao: It has the effects of hemostatic and healing, regulating blood and removing blood stasis, reducing swelling and pain, etc. It is widely used in cancer bleeding and pain in recent years.

Xiaohuoluo Dan: It has the effects of promoting blood circulation, removing blood stasis, relaxing tendons and dredging collaterals, promoting qi and relieving pain. It has obvious analgesic effects and is used for various tumor pain.

Three, topical Chinese medicine

All kinds of pain-relieving plasters, such as Chanwu Babu plaster, etc., patients can go to the local pharmacy to purchase for external use, and they have certain effects.

Dissolve borneol in an appropriate amount of wine and prepare a 20%-50% solution to apply to the painful area, which can often take effect within 10-15 minutes.

Chinese Medicine for Relieving Cancer and Pain Recommended by the Chinese Society of Chinese Medicine in 2008

1. Yuanhu Pain Relief Granules: used for Qi stagnation pain

2. Guishen Analgesic Mixture: Used for moderate to severe pain

3. Xinhuang Tablet: Used for middle and late cancer pain

4. Yanshu injection: used for mild to moderate pain

5. Aconitum injection: It has a certain effect on the pain of liver cancer, lung cancer and pancreatic cancer.

The above-mentioned traditional Chinese medicine should be used under the guidance of a specialist to achieve better results. …