How does cancer treatment cause pain?
The fact that treatment effects can themselves cause pain is well documented. Postoperative pain (e.g., surgical resection, postthoracotomy, or mastectomy chest wall pain) and acute amputation pain followed by “phantom” pain are common problems. Chemotherapeutic agents cause toxic side effects (e.g., chemotherapy-induced mucositis). Chemotherapeutic agents that can cause neuropathy include cisplatin, oxaliplatin, paclitaxel, thalidomide, vincristine, and vinblastine. External beam radiation may also be a pain generator (e.g., painful neuropathy).
