Cancer pain is often undertreated. The standard approaches to pain management also often entail debilitating side effects or provide only transient relief. For select patients, Mayo Clinic offers neurosurgical options that can enhance quality of life.
“Surgery for cancer pain is heavily underutilized. We need to do a better job of getting these patients to a surgeon in a timely manner,” says Rushna P. Ali, M.D., a functional neurosurgeon at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
Managing cancer pain historically has focused on high-dose opioids for people with short-term expected survival. But advances in oncologic care mean more people are living longer with cancer. Even patients considered disease-free can experience chronic pain, including postsurgical syndromes and chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathic pain.
