Abstract

Introduction: Pain management and supportive-care are critical for cancer patients. The purpose of this care is to focus on the patients’ needs in physical, psychological and social aspects. Objectives: Given the importance of pain in cancer patients and its role in patients' quality of life, the present study was conducted to determine the attitude of cancer patients toward pain relief in Ilam. Materials and methods: The study was cross-sectional descriptive conducted on 220 cancer patients using convenient sampling method. The questionnaires used were demographic characteristics form, cancer patients’ attitudes towards pain, and visual analog scale (VAS). If the patients could complete the questionnaires, they would do it as a self-expression; and if not, the researchers would complete it for them. The patients completed VAS questionnaire. After collecting data and entering spss16, they were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results: The results of this study showed that most of the patients selected “agree” and “fully agree” in the first dimension for “if in low pain analgesic is used, in case of severe pain, it will not be effective;” in the second dimension, “pain prevents enjoying entertainment and social activities.” Moreover, they selected the same options in the third dimension for “thinking about pain increases the pain intensity” and in the fourth dimension, “analgesics are very addictive.” Furthermore, in the fifth dimension, the results showed that 48.7 of patients fully agree and agree “There is no control over pain and relief by the individual.".” Concerning the fear of injection, 46.4 of the patients agreed and fully agreed with “The injection of analgesics is painful”. The results also showed that the mean and standard deviation of the perceived pain severity in patients were 8.39 ± 1.33. Conclusion: Given the effects of different factors affecting pain in cancer patients, it is necessary to do perform appropriate interventions in proportion to the attitudes of cancer patients to reduce their pain. © 2018 Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications. All rights reserved.