Patient Center »Patient and Family Support »Pain and Palliative Care Program

Effective relief of cancer pain is an integral part of comprehensive cancer care. Cancer causes pain in 30 percent of patients with early diagnosis and in 85 percent of those whose disease is advanced. Cancer treatment itself can cause both acute and chronic pain that compromises patient rehabilitation and decreases quality of life. The impact of cancer pain is magnified by the interaction of pain and its treatments with other common cancer symptoms, such as fatigue, weakness, nausea, constipation and shortness of breath.

The goal of this palliative care is to relieve suffering and ensure the best possible quality of life for people facing chronic and life-threatening illness, regardless of the stage of the disease or the need for other therapies. Cancer pain can be relieved safely and effectively in over 95 percent of patients, using an integrated program of systemic, pharmacologic and anticancer therapy. The remaining patients can be helped by the appropriate use of invasive procedures. No cancer patient needs to live with unrelieved pain.

Dr. Michael H. Levy, a nationally known expert in pain relief and palliative care, is medical director of the Pain and Palliative Care Program (PPCP) at Fox Chase Cancer Center. Dr. Levy serves on the board of directors of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.
The PPCP Team

Palliative-care consultants help identify and treat symptoms of physical and psycho-social problems, aid in communication between multiple caregivers and offer support for the patient's goals. the Pain and Palliative Care Program offers patients the following:

• An interdisciplinary team of cancer pain specialists who collaborate to optimize each patient's comfort level and function.
• Evaluation and management services to any patient with cancer-related pain. Those experiencing intractable pain or unmanageable toxicity from analgesic therapy are likely to benefit. Typical patients are those with opioid intolerance, opioid resistant pain and/or complex psychosocial problems that interfere with safe and effective relief of their pain.
• A team of nurse clinicians and social workers led by a medial oncologist recognized internationally for his skill in pain and palliative medicine.
• An individually tailored plan of diagnostic and therapeutic interventions based on pain origin and intensity, psychosocial status, cancer status and concurrent medical conditions. Pain is typically managed through systemic analgesics and coanalgesics accompanied by intensive education and support.
• Nurses who monitor the effectiveness of each patient's care plan. They are on-call 24 hours a day, seven days a week for emergency management of unrelieved pain or toxicity. Physician back-up is provided as well.
• Full reassessment of patients is performed on a regular basis through scheduled follow-up appointments.
• When the prescribed therapy is ineffective or causes intolerable side effects, patients will be referred to a consultant anesthesiologist to determine the potential benefit of procedural interventions, such as spinal administrations of opioids and/or local anesthetics through implantable pumps, regional nerve blocks, epidural injections of steroids and hypertonic saline, local instillation of neurolytic agents and percutaneous, radiofrequency cordotomy.

Patients may be referred by contacting the Pain and Palliative Care Program at 215-728-3544, Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.