Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Breakthrough pain
Introduction
Most cancer patients will, from time to time, experience pain which is normally treated by pain medications. Pain which lasts for up to 12 hours a day is called persistent cancer pain, and this, too, can be treated, with stronger pain relievers.
However, from time to time, a patient will experience BTCP, or Breakthrough cancer pain, in which the pain “breaks through” the normal doses of pain treatments. Such pain usually strikes without warning.
External links
- The American Chronic Pain Association http://www.theacpa.org
- Pain.com http://www.pain.com
- BreakthroughPain.com http://www.breakthroughpain.com
- American Pain Society http://www.ampainsoc.org
- National Pain Foundation http://www.nationalpainfoundation.org
- American Academy of Pain http://www.painmed.org