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Pain limiting living.

Treef74a4a
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My daughter has anal cancer, the tumour is protruding and causing her great pain, she has a Putnams anal cancer cushion and can manage to sit in her armchair albeit tentatively. The tumour is ulcerated and producing exudate continuously, and on occasion if the pants get stuck can cause bleeding, although now with changing the pads frequently and cleaning the area with tenna wash wipes we are managing that problem quite well. My question is there an analgesic spray or cream that could be applied to numb her bottom area and allow her to walk and travel in the car, she has had her treatment stopped due to comorbidities ie. stroke 20 years ago and antiphospholipid syndrome,, plus a bad reaction to her 1st chemo. Dr says she is to frail now. Her wish is to have a final holiday touring Wales in a campervan, but the pain is holding her dreams from her. Any helpful suggestions would be gratefully received

  • Hi Treef74a4a,

    I’m glad you felt able to reach out to us for support. It sounds like you and your daughter are going through tough times. It must feel unfair that she is having to put up with so much pain on top of everything else. If you think it would help to talk things through with someone, our support line is open from 8am until 8pm 7 days a week.

    On this platform, we don’t have access to NHS systems or medical records, so we can’t recommend anything specific, but we can offer information that may give your daughter an idea of the type of questions to ask her doctors.

    The most important thing is that she gets the right support. You don’t mention who is managing her pain at present, but she could ask to be referred to her local specialist palliative care team if she hasn’t done so already.

    Sometimes they are called ‘Macmillan Nurses’ (clinical nurses that are funded by Macmillan and work in a palliative care team) and sometimes ‘specialist palliative care nurses’, depending on what you have in your area. Your daughter can request a referral from her GP. The palliative care nurses will do a thorough assessment to make sure she has what she needs to manage her pain.

    It may also be an idea to go back to your daughter’s hospital team for advice about trying an alternative cushion to improve her comfort. It would be useful to ask them for advice on cushions that may help her tolerate a journey in a car.

    To answer your question as best as I can, there are numbing (anaesthetic) sprays, creams and gels available that can give temporary relief for a short period, and creams that contain various forms of analgesia. There are also lots of different types of medication used for pain control, dependent on what is causing the pain. Sometimes there is a ‘nerve’ element to the pain that needs a combination of drugs for effective pain relief. The Macmillan Nurse or GP are best placed to advise on the most appropriate treatments for your daughter.

    You may find our booklet ‘Managing cancer pain’ useful. It gives you an idea of the different medications that are used for cancer pain. At the end of the booklet, you will find a pain diary. Your daughter can use this to record what she is taking and when, what is making her pain worse or helping, and how severe it is.

    This can sometimes help to identify patterns, and it helps healthcare professionals who are reviewing your medications. It is not on the pain diary, but it can also be useful to score your pain out of 10 an hour AFTER taking medication as well as before, so that it prompts you to think consciously about whether the pain relief has worked, has had some effect or no effect at all.

    I hope this is helpful. Please don’t hesitate to contact us again if you need us.

    Take care

    Sharon

    Clinical Information Nurse Specialist

    Ref; SA/AD

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