Control of oncologic pain in relief of suffering. Our experience

Pain and suffering are not synonymous terms. The concept of suffering is wider than just physical pain. People can suffer for multiple causes, pain among them, but it is not the only reason since <>. If our main objective is the achievement of the well-being and the relief of pain, it will be necessary, according to Lazarus, Folkman, Chapman, Gravin, Bayés and Labrador, to reduce or eliminate the physical (cancer, pain and so on) and psychosocial harm (loneliness, culpability, etc.) perceived like a threat and to increase the perception of control about this situation.

The main objectives of our work were: First: to evaluate the efficacy of a tool that allows the identification of the symptoms perceived by the patient as a threat in order to reduce or suppress them and empower their resources at the same time; and secondly to evaluate the incidence of pain in the suffering.

Our tool includes the following groups of variables: subjective perception of the time course, emotional aspects, concerns and confrontation strategies, perception of adaptation and sense of life, perceived support and pain. This tool has been tested in 73 oncologic patients, 31 men and 42 women, mean aged 55, 41 (SD = 14, 54) visited at the Medical Oncology Service of La Paz Hospital.

Mainly, people who refers great suffering are those with more pain (p < 0.05); while patients with less suffering and higher well-being are those that use strategies to face their situation (p < 0.05). Our tool reduces perceived threats and that reflects the need for a good control of pain and at the same time to empower the resources to relieve the suffering as much as possible.

The referred tool seems to be effective in order to easy the intervention to relieve the suffering.