Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Nov;12(8):895-906.
doi: 10.2217/pmt-2022-0015. Epub 2022 Sep 6.

End-of-life cancer patients' total pain: the necessity to supplement pharmacology with psycho-socio-spiritual treatments

Andrea Bovero  1 , Ylenia Digiovanni  1 , Rossana Botto  1   2 , Paolo Leombruni  1   2
Affiliations

End-of-life cancer patients' total pain: the necessity to supplement pharmacology with psycho-socio-spiritual treatments

Andrea Bovero et al. Pain Manag. 2022 Nov.

Abstract

Aim: To analyze pain considering its different bio-psycho-social-spiritual manifestations and to assess the effectiveness of the analgesic treatments in end-of-life cancer patients. Materials & methods: The study was cross-sectional. A total of 376 end-of-life cancer inpatients participated in the research. Their socio-demographic and clinical data were collected and, during the first psychological consultancy, they filled in a set of validated rating scales assessing pain, anxiety, depression and quality of life. Results: The results show that physical pain was well managed for almost all patients. Nevertheless, the majority showed clinically significant levels of psychological distress. Conclusion: Treating pain means caring for all its possible manifestations including psychological symptoms and reduced wellbeing. Thus, integrating pharmacological treatment with psycho-socio-spiritual interventions, in other words, psychological, social and spiritual support, could be effective and desirable.

Keywords: cancer; end-of-life; oncology; pain; palliative care; psychological interventions; spirituality.

Plain language summary

The aim of this article was to analyze in patients with oncological disease at the end-of-life different types of pain from which they can suffer, for example, physical pain, psychological distress and their various types of wellbeing. Moreover, we would like to assess if the drugs they assumed for their physical pain were sufficient to remove the pain. A total of 376 patients participated in the research. Their personal and medical data were gathered and they were invited to fill in some questionnaires investigating the presence of pain, anxiety, depression and quality of life. The results showed that physical pain was contained and well treated for almost all patients. Nevertheless, most of the patients had high anxiety and depression and low quality of life. It is important to provide patients with adequate pharmacological treatment, but also to offer them other types of interventions such as psychological support, psychotherapy, social support and spiritual support. Combining the pharmacological treatment with these interventions could be desirable to care for all the possible types of pain.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

LinkOut - more resources