After conventional breast cancer treatments, half of women have lingering, long-term pain

Thursday, December 10, 2009 by: E. Huff, staff writer
Tags: breast cancer, chronic pain, health news

(NaturalNews) A Danish study published in the November 11 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association found that women who have undergone conventional breast cancer treatment experience pain long after completing treatments. Mastectomies, breast-conserving surgeries, radiation treatments, chemotherapy, and lymph node dissection were among the treatments women in the study had received.

More than 3,000 women were instructed to fill out questionnaires about whether or not they had any pain, the types of pain they were experiencing, where they were experiencing it, how often it was recurring, and how severe it was. Nearly 50 percent indicated pain in one or more areas and more than 50 percent of those in the pain group denoted moderate to severe pain.

Of all the women who experienced severe pain, nearly 80 percent experienced it on a daily basis. Among those reporting light pain, 36 percent suffered from it daily. Women under age 40 were more than three times as likely to experience chronic pain than were women over age 40.

Findings revealed that the areas around the breast, armpit, and on the sides of the body were where the women experienced such pain. Women who received radiation therapy were found more likely to have chronic pain than did those who underwent chemotherapy. Likewise, axillary (underarm) lymph node dissection resulted in more instances of chronic pain than did dissection of the sentinal lymph nodes, which is where cancer cells usually proliferate first.

Some specialists are suggesting that providing preventive treatments for women in the high risk groups should be utilized in order to lower the risk of these women developing chronic pain due to cancer treatments.

Building upon previous research into the topic, the study further pinpoints which procedures are most likely to cause chronic pain and in which age groups they are most likely to develop. Doctors and pain specialists have been aware of chronic pain resulting from invasive conventional cancer treatments, but many still claim ignorance as to why the pain lingers, often indefinitely.

Bombarding delicate areas of the body with toxic radiation, harsh chemicals, and invasive surgeries is sure to have lasting negative effects in those unfortunate enough to undergo such procedures. The best option in dealing with breast or any other cancer is to prevent it from ever occurring in the first place. By supplying the body with necessary nutrients, it will be able to defend itself from developing harmful cancers. When the body is in an alkaline state, cancer cells rarely proliferate.

Sources for this story include

http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/hea...