Good Morning my MIL has been diagnosed with cancer and is suffering with pain in her stomach. She is having pain relief but it does not seem to help. She is still awaiting a biopsy to confirm the stage she is at. But has been told it could be up to 3 weeks for this.
is there anything we can do? Should she go back to the hospital if the pain is so bad?
Hello CJB86,
Thanks for getting in touch with us and welcome to the online community. My name is Linda and I’m one of the Cancer Information Nurse Specialists on the Macmillan Support Line.
Sorry to read that your MIL is in pain despite having pain relief. I am unsure who prescribed the pain relief. There are a few options. If you have contact numbers for the consultant and/or nurse at the hospital and they prescribed the pain relief, then please contact them.
You can also contact the GP who can prescribe pain relief and if it’s out of normal hours you can contact NHS 111.
Either way, it’s important that your MIL is reviewed.
Normally when pain relief is prescribed, they would start off slowly, especially if the person has not been used to taking regular pain relief and they would then change or add in medications as needed.
It’s important also to take pain relief as prescribed, sometimes people are reluctant to take the full dose and it’s useful to note down when it has been taken and if it was effective or not.
You may find our information on types of pain and coping with it, helpful.
I hope this helps. Please get back in touch if you have any other questions.
Best wishes
Linda J. Cancer Information Nurse Specialist
You can also speak with the Macmillan Support Line team of experts. Phone free on 0808 808 0000 (7 days a week, 8am-8pm) or send us an email.
Ref LJ/Lrob
