Effective cancer pain control begins with a comprehensive assessment of the patient to determine the cause of his or her pain. Pain control is an essential part of cancer treatment, as it allows patients to be more present with family and friends, sleep and eat better, and do the things they enjoy.

There are many approaches to controlling cancer-related pain, including medication management, interventional (needle-based) treatments and surgical techniques. At UK Interventional Pain Medicine, we treat patients with many different types of cancer-related pain using a variety of techniques, including:

• Sympathetic chain nerve blocks
• Pain pumps
• Epidural catheters: An epidural catheter functions similarly to a pain pump, but the catheter is placed in the epidural space rather than the spinal fluid. This allows for excellent pain control without side effects patients typically have with oral pain medication.
• Peripheral nerve catheters: An alternative to the neurolysis procedure, a peripheral nerve catheter is placed when patients have significant relief from a nerve block and desire longer-duration relief. This procedure allows for a continuous nerve block (and pain relief) for as long as the catheter is in place.