Other ways to relieve pain
Medicine doesn’t always relieve pain in some people. In these cases, doctors use other treatments to reduce pain:
-
Radiation therapy. Different forms of radiation energy are used to shrink the tumor and reduce pain. Often one treatment is enough to help with the pain. But sometimes several treatments are needed.
-
Neurosurgery. A surgeon cuts the nerves that carry pain messages to your brain.
-
Nerve blocks. Anesthesiologists inject pain medicine into or around the nerve or into the spine to relieve pain.
-
Surgery. A surgeon removes all or part of a tumor to relieve pain. This is especially helpful when a tumor presses on nerves or other parts of the body.
-
Chemotherapy. Anticancer drugs are used to reduce the size of a tumor, which may help with the pain.
-
Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation (TENS). TENS uses a gentle electric current to relieve pain. The current comes from a small power pack that you can hold or attach to yourself.
