Franklin Pain and Wellness Center

Nearly two decades after federal guidelines called for more aggressive treatment of pain associated with cancer, millions of Americans with the disease still suffer unnecessarily because their pain is not being managed adequately, according to a new study.

The study, led by researchers at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, found that a third of cancer patients and survivors have untreated or undertreated pain, an improvement from 18 years ago but still far short.

The study, which was published this week, is the largest-ever evaluation of the treatment of pain in cancer patients and survivors in an outpatient setting.

The new study did not investigate why cancer patients' pain is still not adequately treated. Common reasons include patients' fear of narcotics and their lack of understanding of non-narcotic pain treatment. Some doctors don't understand the extent of some patients' pain.

The study enrolled more than 3,000 people with invasive breast, prostate, colon and lung cancer and at risk for pain at 38 institutions across the country. They included patients in active treatment and survivors seeing doctors for follow-up appointments. Most were being treated by oncologists, not pain specialists.

The researchers found that significant pain was an issue in two-thirds of patients and that 67% of them were receiving adequate treatment. Twenty percent of those reporting severe pain were not receiving any pain treatment, and 13% were receiving ineffective pain treatment.

The study included patients whose pain was caused by their cancer, by the treatment for their cancer or by illnesses they brought to their cancer care.

The study shows how complicated pain management and pain management education can be in cancer patients. For an evaluation and a customized, non narcotic pain treatment plan, contact Franklin Pain Wellness Center.

Pain is the number one reason people seek medical care according to the American Pain Society. As more and more Americans seek pain management services, it is no surprise that quality pain specialists are in high demand.

Currently, very little pain management education is provided in medical schools. According to a Johns Hopkins University study published in The Journal of Pain, out of 117 medical schools that participated in the study, a majority of these schools are teaching one or more core topics in pain, but many schools are not reporting any pain teaching and most others devote less than five hours to pain education. Further, the authors found that cancer pain, pediatric pain and geriatric pain are essentially unaddressed by the vast majority of medical schools.

What does this mean for pain management? Pain patients must seek out professionals who specialize in pain. The specialists at The Franklin Pain and Wellness Center have undergone additional education, post medical school, in order to focus on chronic pain management. Additionally, the specialists at The Franklin Pain and Wellness Center continue to take continuing education courses to stay on top of the evolving techniques and procedures in the pain management industry.

If you suffer from chronic pain and are seeking pain management treatment, call The Franklin Pain and Wellness Center at (508) 507-8818 to schedule your evaluation or e-mail staff@franklinpaincenter.com.

Chronic pain specialists are doctors who are specially trained to manage chronic pain.  Usually, anesthesiologists are ideal doctors to manage pain since anesthesiology is a field that works to manage pain during otherwise painful procedures.  Surgery, labor and other painful procedures require temporary pain management, while other conditions require longer term or chronic pain management.  

Conditions like arthritis, back pain, muscle pain, nerve pain or even cancer pain require special pain management.  A pain specialist is able to assess the patient’s medical history, review symptoms and create a specific treatment plan to manage each individual’s pain.  

The pain specialist works in collaboration with other physicians in order to fully help the patient attain the most comfortable condition possible.  The goal of the pain specialist is to minimize medication dependency while increasing the patient’s comfort and quality of life.  Depending on the type and origin of pain, the pain specialist will perform minimally invasive procedures in order to minimize pain and increase the patient’s mobility and activity level.  

If you experience chronic pain, call The Franklin Pain Center at or e-mail us at staff@franklinpaincenter.com to schedule an evaluation.

No one should live with pain. This holiday season give a gift to yourself, learn how to relieve your pain without narcotics.

Whether you suffer from back pain, cancer pain, or neck pain, a pain specialist can help. Chronic pain is pain that has been going on for 3 to 6 months since it began.

Cancer patients or patients recovering from surgery are often prone to chronic pain. Many feel they need to live with the pain as an alternative to taking narcotic pain medication. This is not the case. The pain specialists at Franklin Pain and Wellness have determined methods and treatments to minimize chronic pain such as lower back; neck; headaches; post herpetic neuralgia (shingles); reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD); maxillofacial pain and other chronic ailments.

Our team of nurses and anesthesiologists are specifically trained in pain management. Working with your physician, we will determine the best course of treatment for you; contact us.

Pain expert Margo McCaffrey, MSN,RN, FAAN says "Pain is whatever the experiencing person says it is, and exists whenever he says it does." Whatever the cause or the description, pain hurts and has physical and emotional repercussions.  
 
Pain caused by the disease or from the treatment of the disease is common in cancer patients. Approximately 30% - 50% of people with cancer experience pain while undergoing treatment, and 70% - 90% of people with advanced cancer experience pain.
 
Careful, comprehensive assessment of cancer pain is absolutely essential to finding the best treatments to manage the pain. Working with your physician and taking your specific needs into account, our pain specialists at Franklin Pain and Wellness will create a treatment plan that will manage your pain at your comfort level.

Contact us in order to make an appointment. We will do a thorough and accurate diagnosis so that a customized program can be developed that will target your specific pain.