Colon cancer survivors suffer from regular abdomen and back pain, a new study finds.
The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Granada. They analyzed the physical and psychological status of colon cancer patients following oncological treatment. This led to the discovery that survivors of this illness were more likely to suffer future lesions related with pain in the back and lower abdomen than healthy individuals of the same gender and age. Researchers found a series of abnormalities in the abdominal wall architecture. These abnormalities cause changes in the way chronic pain is processed, making patients more sensitive to any kind of pain in the future.
"Colon cancer is the third most common cancer in the world if we consider both genders together," lead author Manuel Arroyo-Morales said in a press statement. "Thanks to advances in oncological treatment, the chances of survival have risen spectacularly in recent years-between 44 percent and 65 percent in the last 5 years. This improvement in treatment has led to the appearance of a group of people who have had cancer and have managed to overcome it".
As effective as oncological treatment is, it is also extremely tough physically and highly traumatic psychologically. It significantly reduces a patient's capacity to do normal daily work and leisure routines. The long convalescence period can lead to muscle atrophy and general debility.
"The loss of parameters like muscle strength in the back or cardiorespiratory capacity can mean up to a 60 percent deterioration by comparison with healthy individuals of the same gender and age," the study authors said. "All these physical abnormalities impact on their quality of life to the extent that this can be reduced by around 40 percent when compared with individuals of the same age and gender not affected by cancer."
The study was funded by the Campus of International Excellence: BioHealth and Information & Communications Technology (CEI BioTic). Findings were published online in the journal Pain Medicine and the European Journal of Cancer Care.
