Describing breakthrough pain in patients with cancer

If you are experiencing breakthrough pain, the first step in developing a treatment plan is to talk with your doctor or nurse about what you are experiencing. This means you will need to be able to describe your pain as well as you can.

Common terms used to describe breakthrough pain

Here is a list of terms that many pain patients may use when describing their breakthrough pain. This may be helpful to you when talking to your family members and healthcare team.

• Hot
• Sharp
• Piercing
• Shooting
• Cutting
• Stabbing
• Burning
• Aching
• Throbbing
• Crawling under the skin

You may find it helpful to use a journal to keep track of your pain and the medicine you take to get relief. After you make notes in the journal, you should bring it to your doctor so you can work together to treat your pain better. Each day, consider writing down the following information:

• Where the pain occurs on your body, and any words you can use to describe it
• What medicines you are taking
• The dosages of your medicines
• The time you take your medicines
• How long before your medication starts to work
• How bad the pain is before and after you take the medicine

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