Conducting holistic pain assessments in patients with cancer-related pain
Intended for healthcare professionals
CPD    

Conducting holistic pain assessments in patients with cancer-related pain

Martin Galligan Lecturer practitioner, Royal Marsden School, Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, London, England

Why you should read this article:
  • To learn more about the experience of pain in patients living with and beyond cancer

  • To enhance your knowledge of tools that can assist in conducting holistic pain assessments

  • To count towards revalidation as part of your 35 hours of CPD, or you may wish to write a reflective account (UK readers)

  • To contribute towards your professional development and local registration renewal requirements (non-UK readers)

The incidence of cancer is increasing and people diagnosed with cancer are living longer, with and beyond cancer, and experiencing acute and long-term effects of their disease and its treatment. One such effect is pain, which may occur at any stage, from diagnosis to survivorship or end of life. The exact incidence of cancer-related pain is challenging to determine but it is estimated to affect between 39% and 66% of patients, according to the stage of their disease trajectory. Cancer-related pain is complex, multifactorial and multidimensional, and nurses need to be equipped with the knowledge and skills to assess it in a holistic way. This article explores how nurses working in cancer settings can support people in their care by conducting holistic pain assessments.

Cancer Nursing Practice. doi: 10.7748/cnp.2021.e1802

Peer review

This article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software

@boywonder1989

Correspondence

martin.galligan@nhs.net

Conflict of interest

None declared

Galligan M (2021) Conducting holistic pain assessments in patients with cancer-related pain. Cancer Nursing Practice. doi: 10.7748/cnp.2021.e1802

Published online: 20 October 2021

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