Cancer pain management program: Patients' experiences–A qualitative study

Abstract

Background: Cancer patients frequently experience unrelieved pain as a significant symptom. However, several studies have found that cancer‐related pain is frequently undertreated. Purpose: This study aimed to understand the pain experiences of cancer patients who were newly engaged in a multidisciplinary pain management program (PMP) at King Hussein Cancer Centre and still receiving cancer treatments and cancer pain management. Methods: A qualitative study design and semi‐structured interviews were used to obtain data from 21 cancer patients who were purposefully selected. All patients had advanced cancer, including skeleton metastases. All female participants had breast cancer, and all male participants had prostate cancer. Results: It was found that the patient−healthcare professional relationship and satisfaction with services emerged as two themes in healthcare professionals' pain management. Conclusion: The results from this study can offer a new understanding of the knowledge related to satisfaction of patients with cancer in terms of the quality of pain management. Additional qualitative studies are required to replicate the findings in populations from different backgrounds, ethnicities, and cultures experiencing cancer pain.