Integrative Approaches in Pain Management of Cancer Patients With Palyative Care

Numerous reasons such as increased life expectancy of individuals diagnosed with cancer andaggressive treatments provided in the last periods of life have increased the requirement ofpalliative care. Because the priority of palliative care is to effectively eliminate the complaintsdiscomforting the patient rather than futile treatments, tests, and examination. Pain, one ofthese complaints, is the one, which cancer patients are mostly afraid of, and the most commoncause to apply for palliative care programs. The complex structure of the pain requires mainlypatient centred integrative biopsychosocial care including biological, psychological, social, andcultural factors of the individual. Today, even though studies on cancer patients constituting a major part of palliative care patients revealed that pain can be treated substantially withconvenient approach, unfortunately several patients yet have been experiencing pain due toinsufficient treatment. Therefore, integrative methods are also frequently applied for solutionof this problem as well as medical treatment. Integrative practices take the situation of theindividual as a whole, and by considering the modern western medicine and complementarypractices together, they offer comprehensive treatment options. This paper will discuss someintegrative approaches applied for management of cancer pain.