Managing Cancer Symptoms & Side Effects

Cancer illnesses and treatments can change your body in many ways. The expert caregivers at Mosaic Life Care are committed to helping patients manage the symptoms and side effects that often accompany cancer and cancer treatments.

Pain Management

At Mosaic Life Care, access to pain relief is a top priority. We provide continuous pain monitoring and accurate methods of pain assessment. We also offer a variety of treatment options, because everyone experiences pain differently.

Pain associated with cancer can come from the tumor itself, or as a side effect of treatment. If you are feeling pain during or after treatment, talk to your doctor or nurse. Pain can be short term (acute) or last several weeks or even months (chronic).

Causes of Cancer Pain

To determine cause of pain, the doctor will take a medical history and conduct an assessment. Common causes of cancer pain include:

The tumor itself.
Side effects of treatment.
Tissue damage from tumors, which can press on tissues, bones and nerves or block structures.
Cancer treatment, most often surgery, but sometimes chemotherapy, immunotherapy or radiation therapy.
Muscle aches due to physical inactivity.

Managing Pain

There are many ways to potentially reduce or relieve cancer pain:

Removing or reducing the underlying cancer via surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and/or immune therapy.
Pain-relieving medicines can be prescribed.
Non-opioid medications such as Tylenol and anti-inflammatory medications like ibuprofen can provide relief for mild to moderate pain.
Opioids can be highly effective with treating cancer pain.
Occasionally doctors may prescribe a fast-acting pain relief medication such as oral morphine to “break through” a sudden pain. These medications leave the body quickly.
Antidepressants, anticonvulsants and steroids are now being used to help control pain, and they are getting excellent results.
Temporary nerve blocks (anesthesia) interrupt the ability for pain signals to be transmitted, and an injection could provide relief for a number of hours.
Epidurals or intrathecal pumps can be used for more widespread areas of pain and can deliver medicine directly to the nerves that are causing pain.

If pain is not controlled by using the methods above, there may be an opportunity to cut pain pathways by neurosurgery. Cognitive-behavioral therapy can help patients develop coping skills, which also aids in the success of other treatments. Holistic therapies such as meditation, relaxation therapy, acupuncture and massage are also viable pain-management techniques.

Managing Opioid Side Effects

Taking prescription opioids can cause certain side effects. Here are some ways to manage these side effects and talk with your caregivers about them.

Constipation – Opioids can cause issues with constipation. Increasing liquids and dietary fiber (if approved by your dietitian) can help relieve this side effect. You may also talk to your nurse or doctor about use of laxatives or stool softeners.
Nausea – Report nausea and vomiting to your nurse or doctor. They may be able to prescribe anti-nausea therapies to help.
Drowsiness, sleepiness or fogginess – Tell your doctor about any of these symptoms that last more than a day or so and they may be able to adjust your dose, switch your medication or add another medication to reduce these feelings.
Slowed breathing – This is a common side effect, especially for higher doses of opioids. However, inform your care team if your breathing becomes uncomfortable.

Palliative Care

Palliative care is a form of symptom management, dedicated to providing comfort and support throughout your treatment process. The goal of palliative care is to help prevent or manage symptoms and side effects of serious diseases, such as cancer. Throughout and after your treatment, Mosaic Life Care’s Palliative Care team is available to provide support for symptom management as well as psychological, social and spiritual issues that may arise due to cancer diagnosis and its treatment. In addition to daily support, Mosaic Life Care’s Palliative Care team also provides appointments at the cancer center on Thursday afternoons. For additional information about Palliative Care at Mosaic Life Care please call (816) 271-7826.

Rehabilitation

Mosaic Life Care offers occupational and physical therapy throughout all stages of cancer treatment. Your caregivers can also connect you with other services such as speech and hearing programs.

Skin Care

Chemotherapy can lead to rashes, itching, dry skin and skin infections. Hair loss is also common with chemotherapy. Sometimes a topical medication can be used to help encourage regrowth during treatment.

Radiation may cause skin burns which can be painful and can lead to infection. Skin burns can be treated with antibiotics or anti-inflammatory creams.

We can help connect you with a dermatologist during your treatment to help you prepare for and manage any skin-care needs.

Sexual Health

Physical and emotional changes may occur with your sexual health during treatment. Decreased interest in sexual activity and confidence is not uncommon for both men and women. Our care teams are equipped to help you work through any treatment-related changes in your sexual health.

Common sexual-health side effects of women with cancer:

Women often will experience physical changes such as loss of your period and/or emotional side effects such as a lack of interest in sexual activity.
Menopause can begin suddenly and earlier than normal.
- Treatment-induced menopause can be temporary or permanent depending on the type of treatment and your age when you received it.
- Treatment-induced menopause increases a patient’s risk for vaginal health complications. Symptoms experienced can include: vaginal dryness, discomfort and pain, difficulty with sexual arousal and pain during intercourse.
- Hormone changes along with the symptoms of premature menopause can lead to experiencing feelings of anxiety, sadness and loss.

Common sexual-health side effects for men with cancer:

Emotional effects such as lack of interest in sexual activity is common during cancer care.
Erectile dysfunction, or an inability to achieve or maintain an erection.
Premature or delayed ejaculation.
Physical deformities, such as curvature of the penis during erection — most often a result of certain treatments for prostate cancer.
Fertility problems or low testosterone levels.
Anxiety and fatigue can also impact your hormones and emotions which may decrease your interest in sex.
Loss of sexual confidence is not uncommon, and regaining that confidence will take time and likely require support from a partner.

Our expert care team can help answer any questions you may have about your sexual health during and after treatment. Your caregivers can assist in developing a plan to help you overcome any challenges you face.

Helpful tips for addressing sexual-health questions with your doctor:

Ask if there will be any sexual side effects from the treatment.
Ask how the treatment could affect your sexual health in the long term.
If you have experienced challenges, tell your doctor at an appointment. For example, you could say, “I’ve been having discomfort during intercourse. Is there anything that can be done to help reduce the pain?” or “I’ve noticed my sex drive has decreased a lot, will this get better?”

Sexual health is important, and you’re not alone. It is completely appropriate to talk to your provider about any sexual-health questions or concerns you may have.

Fertility

Cancer care can impact fertility in men and women. There are options to help preserve fertility before treatment or help after treatment is completed.

How treatments can impact fertility for both men and women:

Damage or destroy the eggs within ovaries.
Alter hormone levels that regulate growth of eggs.
Damage important reproductive organs.
Impact the ability to produce sperm.
Alter hormone levels that regulate sperm production.
Create challenges with the ability to transfer sperm to a female partner during intercourse.

Preserving fertility for women:

A procedure called oocyte cryopreservation can be done to stimulate the ovaries with medication, remove a group of mature eggs and have them frozen to use in the future.
Another option is embryo cryopreservation, where the ovaries are stimulated with medication, then a group of mature eggs is removed and fertilized with sperm to create embryos to be frozen for use in the future.
Or a surgeon can perform ovarian transposition where they move the ovaries out of the area of the pelvis that receives radiation to protect them from damage.

Preserving fertility for men:

Similar to oocyte cryopreservation for women, men may have the option of sperm cryopreservation, which freezes their sperm for possible use in the future.
There is also a process called testicular shielding, which shields or protects the testes by blocking radiation that is directed at the pelvis or groin.

Cognitive Changes

Brain tumors, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and hormone therapies can lead to cognitive changes in cancer patients. The most common changes include problems with:

Concentration and memory.
The ability to process thoughts quickly.
Learning and retaining information.
Finding words and remembering names.
Multitasking.

With brain tumors, the location of the tumor and effects of treatment can cause cognitive changes. Additionally, cognitive changes can be caused by stress, emotional reactions and different therapies. Symptoms may be short-term or long-term depending on the cause.

If you notice any cognitive changes, let your care team know so we can help you work through these changes.