Cancer pain management: Implications for psychologists

Abstract

AimPain is a common and a complex experience among patients with cancer. The purpose of this review is to provide a rational for a psychologist’s role in cancer pain management and a guide for doing so based on an examination of the current cancer pain literature.MethodA literature review was conducted using the search terms: “cancer pain” AND “nonpharmacological interventions”, “cancer pain”, and “pain management” AND “cancer pain”. Peer-reviewed articles (published between 2000-2015) in which the authors had access to the full-linked text, books, and websites were included.ResultsA total of 451 hits were returned of which 53 were relevant and considered for this review. These were then organized into the following topics: complex cancer pain syndromes, current cancer physiological therapies, the multifactorial model of cancer pain, psychosocial assessment and interventions, barriers to treatment, and clinical implications that impact the future of behavioural interventions as part of cancer treatment.ConclusionEach patient with cancer has a unique pain experience that is shaped by biopsychosocial factors. Because of this, using a multidimensional and multidisciplinary approach is needed to optimize treatment outcomes. To maximize their role, psychologists need to help facilitate this process and to address any attitude and/or knowledge shortcomings they may have.

Implications of Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy in Changing Illness Representations

“…Psychoeducation provided in CBT encourages the patients to adopt an active role in illness management and treatment, by enriching the knowledge on pain management and by reducing dysfunctional beliefs on medication, which eventually reduces the intensity of the symptoms, such as cancer-related pain (Ogbeide & Fitch-Martin, 2016). Cognitivebehavioural therapy is a proper approach for the intervention on illness perception, because it increases people's understanding of the relationship between body and mind and of the way in which this connection influences the evolution of illness, thus integrating information from the biological, psychological and social sphere (Pinto et al, 2017;De Gucht, 2015).…”