. Pain associated with cancer is extensive and can be associated with physical, psychological, and social realities. The reason for the extensive nature of cancer pain is due to the fact that the remainder of the life of a cancer patient can, unfortunately, be one of not only physical pain due to the condition itself but also pain arising from continuing debilitation and even disfiguration; these consequences in turn can inhibit the patient's social interaction and depress his psychological mood.
In cases of cancer, pain may be experienced not only as a function of the disease and/or social and psychological realities necessitated by the disease, but also as a function of medical treatments aimed at remediating the disease. For example, radiotherapy or chemotherapy can produce nausea and vomiting as well as feelings of extreme bodily fatigue and sensitivity. Any pain alleviation treatment would have to take these various sources of pain into account.
2) Discuss the concept of clinical pain in obstetrics.
Unlike cancer in which dysfunctional bodily processes produce high levels of pain, childbirth is a normal bodily process that can generate high pain levels. However, the fact that severity of childbirth pain varies widely from culture to culture suggests that attitude is a component of the pain experience. If one's cultural or ethnic background contribute to the perception of a low pain threshold, then one's experience of pain in conjunction with childbirth will be increased.
There is a notion that certain primitive cultures do not experience strong pain in delivery; however, the text states that the likelihood of painless childbirth is a myth. In Western culture, some have idealized the pain associated with childbirth such that attempts to reduce it through drugs and chemical anesthetics is believed to be immoral. Nonetheless, the fact that attitude appears to be a component of the degree to which mothers experienc...