My dad has thyroid cancer that has spread to his bones. He has cancer in one of his ribs and spine and is taking external radiation, I-131 treatment and calcium injections. But he gets pain nowadays in his affected rib when he coughs or sneezes. I know its a tough question to ask, but what is it that I can do?
Tags: bones, calcium, coughs, dad, external radiation, ribs, spine, thyroid, thyroid cancer
Honestly – the best pain medicines will be the ones prescribed to the doctor. Make sure your dad is honest about how much pain he is in when he sees the doctor. In situations like this, doctors are usually willing to prescribe pain medicine. Generally, they start with something like vicodin and work up from there. The radiation treatments should help alleviate the pain though over the course of the treatment – and even after treatment is done. So there is some good news there. But definitely if he is in pain call or tell the doctor or nurse at your next visit (which would be probably daily if he’s getting external beam radiation).