Will I feel pain during cancer surgery?

You will not feel pain during the surgery itself. According to the National Cancer Institute, anesthesia keeps you from feeling pain during surgery. Anesthesia refers to drugs or other substances that cause you to lose feeling or awareness. There are three types: local anesthesia (loss of feeling in one small area), regional anesthesia (loss of feeling in a part of the body such as an arm or leg), and general anesthesia (loss of feeling and a complete loss of awareness that seems like a very deep sleep).

Surgery often requires cuts through skin, muscles, and sometimes bone. After surgery, these cuts can be painful and take some time to heal. Most people have pain in the part of the body that was operated on, and how much depends on the extent of the surgery.

Your doctor or nurse can help you manage pain after surgery. It helps to talk with them before surgery about ways to control pain, and to tell them afterward if your pain is not controlled.