A 52-year-old female patient is seeing the nurse on the oncology unit for pain control related to breast cancer that has metastasized to her lungs and liver. The nurse wants to prevent further pain and is aware that cancer

Question

A) pain is often related to the stress of the patient knowing she has cancer and requires a very low dose of pain medications along with a high dose of anti-anxiety medications.
B) pain is always chronic and difficult to treat so distraction is often the best intervention.
C) pain can be acute or chronic; it may even be the result of the cancer treatment and usually requires high doses of pain medications.
D) patients often misreport pain because of confusion related to their disease process.

Answer 1

Ans: C
Feedback: Pain associated with cancer may be acute or chronic. Pain resulting from cancer is so ubiquitous that when cancer patients are asked about possible outcomes, pain is reported to be the most feared outcome. Higher doses of pain medication are usually needed with cancer patients, especially with metastasis. Option A is incorrect; cancer pain is often related to the stress of the patient knowing she has cancer, but treatment usually requires high doses of pain medications and may include anti-anxiety medications. Option B is incorrect; cancer pain can be chronic and difficult to treat so distraction may help, but higher doses of pain medications are usually the best intervention. Option D is incorrect; there is no research that indicates cancer patients "often misreport pain because of confusion related to their disease process."