When should you discuss cancer pain with your doctor, and what points should you bring up?

Report any bothersome pain to your doctor. If there is a minor pain that goes away, don't worry about it. But if the pain interferes with your life or is persistent, it needs to be reported and should be treated.

Although no one can guarantee that all pain can be completely eliminated, most pain can be lessened to the point where you can be comfortable.

It may help to keep track of your pain by noting how strong it is, where it's located, what makes it worse, what brings it on, what makes it better and anything else that happens when you have the pain.

A pain-rating scale from 0 to 10 — with 0 being no pain and 10 being the worst pain you can imagine — may be helpful in reporting pain to your doctor.

In addition, pay attention to what happens when you attempt to relieve your pain. If you take medicine, do you feel any ill effects from it? Note any ill effects of your pain medications. If it's a massage, hot or cold packs, or something physical that relieves the pain, those are important to report, too.