Pain relief
Is pain present?

Probably pain and its management are an underestimated problem in dogs with cancer. After all, recognizing pain depends on many factors. On the one hand, depending on the dog’s personality, the dog might hide the pain. On the other hand, some people are more capable than others to assess pain. Furthermore, for some tumor types the level of pain is well-known, but for others it remains unclear what to expect.

These factors can lead to a suboptimal approach of the dog‘s pain, which impacts his/her quality of life and can lead to further physical decline.

Each patient is a unique case and should be assessed accordingly: what is the severity and duration of the pain, which tumor type is implicated, which level of caretaking is possible for the owner, does the dog have other conditions that should be taken into account, what are the financial capabilities of the owner, what is the anticipated duration of the treatment and prognosis, … .



References
  1. Lascelles BD. Supportive Care for the Cancer Patient. Withrow and MacEwen's Small Animal Clinical Oncology, 5th edition,Chapter 15 Withrow (p 245).
  2. Colorado State University Canine Chronic Pain Scale.
  3. AAHA/AAFP pain guidelines
  4. Matthews K and Kronen PW et al. Guidelines for recognition, assessment and treatment of pain: WSAVA Global Pain Council members. Journal of Small Animal Practice 2014 Jun;55(6):E10-68.