Symptom Management Resources

Help Patients Manage Pain

Cancer-related pain is common, yet over 40% of cancer patients do not get adequate pain relief. Untreated or under-treated pain diminishes quality of life, so the American Cancer Society is working to address pain management issues so that more patients can get the pain relief they deserve. YOU can help by learning more about pain below, and sharing the tools and websites with the patients and caregivers you serve.

Myths & Facts About Pain

Help Patients Describe Pain:

• Things to Tell Your Doctor or Nurse - Pain scale, key words to describe pain, key questions to ask
• Explain Your Pain - Self-assessment worksheets courtesy of the American Pain Foundation to help patients describe where, how and when pain occurs

Help Patients Track Their Pain:

Patients can use these worksheets to keep track of their pain so that their health care team can help to better manage it.

• Pain Diary (also available in large print)
• Pain Management Pocket Tool - Quick reference pocket card with information on pain management principles; adjuvant analgesic medications, their uses, starting dose, and dose range; how to switch from one opioid pain medication to another; opioid equivalent doses (in chart form); commonly used non-opioid analgesics; and management strategies of opioid side effects
• Pain Treatment Plan - Worksheet to track pain medicines and other strategies to relieve pain
• Self-Care Pain Management Log - Pain scale and self-care log to track activities that trigger pain and methods that relieve pain

Learn More About Pain:

• Home Care for the Cancer Patient: Pain
• I Can Cope Online: Relieving Cancer Pain - This self-guided online class is available 24/7 and includes video, audio, and links to additional information.
• Pain Control: A Guide for Those With Cancer and Their Loved Ones 
• Pain management video and guidebook - This 30-minute video and its accompanying guidebook will help you understand the causes of cancer-related pain, how to talk to your doctor about your pain, and describes the many methods available to help relieve it. It also offers tips on caring for someone who has cancer-related pain.

Website resources for pain management:

• American Cancer Society - www.cancer.org
• American Pain Foundation - www.painfoundation.org
• Northern California Pain Initiative - http://home.earthlink.net/~norcalpain/
• Southern California Pain Initiative - http://sccpi.coh.org/

Personal Health Manager

The Personal Health Manager kit provides cancer patients and their caregivers with a valuable tool to help manage and organize the multitude of information they receive from various sources, including the Society, related to their diagnosis and treatment. The kit's content can be personalized to provide information and resources which will help address the needs of a particular cancer patient or caregiver.

What's inside?

• Tabs to keep track of appointments, medication, test results, insurance, bills, and various other logistical and practical details
• Tailored information for the patient depending on cancer diagnosis and requested materials
• Available in multiple languages (Spanish, English, Mandarin, Korean, Vietnamese, Arabic, French, Russian, Creole, Hindi, and Polish). 

How can you help as a volunteer?

When visiting a patient or caregiver for Reach to Recovery or Man to Man, speaking to a patient during a Call Back, or talking to patients in a Look Good... Feel Better group session, ask if they have received or are interested in the Society's Personal Health Manager kit. Let the patient or caregiver know how useful the kit can be when dealing with their medical information.

If they have already received a Personal Health Manager, ask them if they are using it and if they have reviewed the information included inside. Patients and caregivers oftentimes are overwhelmed and may need a compassionate voice to help them through the information.

How does a patient or caregiver receive a Personal Health Manager?

Encourage the patient or caregiver to call the American Cancer Society at 1-800-227-2345 and talk to a Cancer Information Specialist about the Personal Health Manager.

Talking About Cancer

Talking about cancer can be hard, whether you're an American Cancer Society Volunteer, a caregiver, or even a patient. Here you'll find some tips and resources to make it easier to talk with others about cancer. Share these with the patients and caregivers you support!

Volunteer Etiquette Reminders

Helpful Phrases for Communicating with Patients

Access the following resources to help people talk about cancer on cancer.org:

• Talking with Your Doctor
• Talking with Friends and Relatives About Your Cancer
• Listen with Your Heart: Talking with the Person Who Has Cancer
• When Someone You Know Has Cancer
• When Someone You Work with Has Cancer
• I Can Cope online class - Communicating Concerns and Feelings
• I Can Cope online class - Mobilizing Resources and Support

Donating Hair

Can I donate my hair to the American Cancer Society?

The American Cancer Society does not accept hair donations directly; however, there are two organizations to which we refer people that can accept hair donations: Wigs for Kids and Pantene Beautiful Lengths.

What is the Pantene Beautiful Lengths campaign?

In 2006, Pantene, in partnership with the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF), launched Pantene Beautiful Lengths (PBL), a national campaign that encourages people to donate their beautiful, healthy hair to create free wigs for women who have lost their hair due to cancer treatment. Pantene Beautiful Lengths wigs are provided by HairUWear and distributed through the American Cancer Society.

In support of the Society's goal to improve quality of life for cancer patients and their families, we are working with the Entertainment Industry Foundation and Pantene in a campaign titled "Pantene Beautiful Lengths." The promotion began in 2006 and it encourages women to grow and cut their hair to transform it into high quality wigs for cancer patients. These wigs are provided to patients through wig banks affiliated with the Society. 

For child wig hair donation, why does the American Cancer Society refer people to Wigs for Kids and not organizations like Locks of Love?

We do not refer individuals wanting to donate their hair to Locks of Love or other similar organizations because they chiefly address alopecia areata, long-term hair loss, not short-term hair loss due to chemotherapy, radiation, and other drugs. 

Wigs for Kids is a nonprofit organization providing hair replacement solutions for children affected by hair loss as a result of burns, chemotherapy, radiation treatments, alopecia, or other medical circumstances, referred by a medical professional and unable to pay for a hairpiece after seeking assistance from all other resources The hairpieces and services are provided without any associated costs to the families of the children.

How can patients request wigs?

For wig request questions and/or to learn about all Society services, please refer individuals to 1-800-227-2345.