Pain and breast cancer

Survival rates for women with breast cancer have increased significantly over recent years, but some women suffer severe pain that can persist for years afterwards.

Professor Michael Cousins, head of the Pain Management Research Institute at the Royal North Shore Hospital, says many patients suffer more than they have to because doctors often tell them the pain will go away on its own, when that’s sometimes not the case.

He heads a study that will establish the prevalence of persistent post-operative pain among women who’ve had breast cancer surgery. The study will examine the causes of persistent pain at a cellular level, to help doctors diagnose it earlier, and to help surgeons minimise the likelihood their patients will suffer from it.

Professor Cousins says he hopes the study will lead to a cultural shift among doctors, who sometimes regard pain as a symptom, when it’s often something more.