Multidimensional assessment of pain in patients with breast cancer and cancers of the female and male genital organs

Aim of the study
Multidimensional assessment of pain in patients with breast, and female and male genital cancers.

Material and methods
The study involved 300 oncological patients undergoing causal treatment aged 25–96 years (mean age 65.4 years) presenting to a pain management clinic. The study was conducted using standardized tools – 11-point NRS scale used to assess pain intensity and Pain Experience Sheet for qualitative assessment of pain characteristics.

Results
90% of patients reported pain of moderate or high intensity. Emotional and somatic dimensions of pain indicated that patients found constant pain of variable intensity or constant pain of equal intensity to be the most oppressive. Patients described constant pain of variable intensity in the following categories: excruciating, cruel, terrible, intolerable, unbearable, and exhausting. Acute pain was the most commonly reported pain in all of the studied cancer types.

Conclusions
Pain has a multidimensional character; therefore, in its assessment, it is insufficient to determine only its severity, but it is also necessary to know its aetiology, location, frequency of occurrence, and its affective, sensory, and behavioural dimensions.