Do I have to put up with cancer pain?

No. Pain is not something you have to "put up with."

Having cancer does not mean you will have pain, but if you do, it can usually be controlled with pain medicine and non-drug approaches. In fact, trying to just deal with the pain can make it harder to control in the future. Controlling pain is an important part of your cancer treatment plan, and treating it well can improve your mood, help you sleep, and give you energy.

Tell your health care team how your pain plan is working, and contact your doctor or nurse if you feel new pain, if the pain is not decreasing with medicine, or if you have side effects from the medicine. Your team can adjust the type or amount of medicine, suggest non-drug methods such as acupuncture or meditation, or refer you to a pain specialist.