What causes Pain with terminal cancer?

Answer 1

Cancer pain is caused by many things. Cancer cells are abnormal cells that multiply and take over the functions of healthy cells. As the abnormal cell continue to multiply and healthy cells die, organ functions and the body's processes feel the effects of the body fighting to maintain control and fight off the invasion of bad cells as pain.

The most common drug used for Cancer patients (terminal or otherwise) is Duragesic, which are time-release Fentanyl patches. Fentanyl is a synthetic opiate 30 times stronger than morphine. The patches are applied to the skin, and body temperature regulates the dispersal rate of the drug into the body. While it comes in doses of 25, 50, 75 and 100 micrograms, they can be combined into higher dosages if needed. Duragesic is effective for most patients for 72 hours(3 days) - a smaller percentage of the population only gets 48 hours of relief. Unfortunately I happen to be in the 48 hour group.

To use Duragesic, the patient must already be opiate tolerant; that is, the patient must have already used an opiate based drug prior to using Duragesic. However, most terminal cancer patients are opiate tolerant. TSD -RAVEN- Category Supervisor

Answer 2

According to Dr. Otto Heinrich Warburg(Nobel Prize Winner 1931), cancer cells change from being 'Aerobic'( oxygen-fueled ) to become 'Anaerobic'( non oxygen-fueled ), actually sugar-fueled!

As oxygen can no longer be absorbed by these cells, our organs begin to break down and the cancer cell's need for sugars, robs our bodies of their vital nutrients.

There are a number of causes of pain, but the majority comes from this cellular breakdown of the bodie's organs, which the brain passes on as pain.