Chronic pain is what it sounds like, pain that a person has had for a long time all the time. People with arthritis, for example, often have chronic joint pain. Chronic pain is difficult to control. Usually attempts are made to handle it with non-narcotic medications, including non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicines like ibuprofen, acetaminophen, topical pain-killers, and medicines that act on the nervous system to make a person less sensitive to pain. Doctors try not to use narcotics for pain that may persist for many years because the body becomes used to the narcotic and it does not work as well. This should not be a concern for patients with mesothelioma. If they have severe pain because of the tumor, their pain should be treated with narcotics if necessary.
Dr. Kaplan
