Cancer Pain And Palliative Care Specialist

Bellevue Pain and Wellness treats cancer pain, whether a patient is actively undergoing treatment, has recovered from treatment, or prefers palliative care.

Chronic pain related to cancer is one of the most prominent and under treated pain conditions that we commonly see today. When primary care and oncology specialsts are no longer comfortable or equipped to handle treatment of patients with these unfortunate conditions. Our office happily consults with these cancer patients in these compromised conditions. We are happy to use our expertise to help with cancer related pain.

Cancer pain and non-cancer chronic pain have a relatively similar treatment approaches and benefits with the goal of excellent controlling pain. Data have shown time and time again that when pain is reduced, functionality is much improved, as well as mortality is reduced  and longevity is increased. It is heartening to be a part of a field where we can increase survival, in general, for patients with everything from Stage I to Stage IV cancer. Of course it’s necessary to coordinate with a patient's oncologist and to understand when needs of the patient change. For example, on occasion, patients may have a recurrence and require a new round of chemotherapy or surgery. In these instances, we tailor our approach to preparing a patient prior to their new therapy plan or anticipate an increase in post procedural or surgical pain.

Certain chemotherapies induce neuropathy and understanding that neuropathic pain is treated differently than chronic pain, in general, is important to optimizing function. Not only do we try to control the pain but we also try to decrease ongoing nerve damage related to chemotherapy or vitamin deficiencies that nerves might be experiencing.

We have a variety of interventional procedures that help reduce pain, if that that area of pain can be targeted with either a neurolytic block or a local anesthetic block. Additionally radioablation can offer long-term solutions without ongoing medication.

Nevertheless, we see excellent benefit with conventional medical therapy to reduce pain. There are some challenges to chronic medical therapy including sedation, nausea, and constipation, however we have ways to address all these issues and ensure reduction of almost all unnecessary suffering and improvement of overall function. In cases of refractory pain or severe side effects to medication or procedures, the intrathecal pump remains a mainstay of chronic pain management. This modality provides an at-home continuous spinal infusion of a very potent painkiller without the common side effects of constipation, itching, nausea, or sedation.

Bellevue Pain And Wellness, serving Bellevue, Seattle, and Tacoma, is pleased to offer consultations with our board-certified physician Robert Bowers MD, and we are proud to treat patients, and turn their suffering into a new zest for life.