Pain Medicine Office

Patients may seek a consultation for:

• acute or chronic pain associated with cancer;
• pain related to a tumor or metastatic disease;
• neuropathic pain associated with cancer;
• pain following cancer-related surgical procedures;
• pain caused by tumor involvement of neural structures;
• severe pain that is insufficiently controlled with medication;
• the need for interventional pain management techniques, including diagnostic and therapeutic nerve blocks, neurolysis, and other specialized procedures;
• other pain syndromes requiring specialized consultation.

During the consultation, the doctor assesses the nature and cause of the pain, reviews the results of previous examinations, evaluates the effectiveness of treatments already received, and determines the appropriate further management.

Depending on the clinical indications, pharmacological treatment, non-pharmacological methods, or interventional pain management may be recommended, including therapeutic nerve blocks and other procedures.

How to book a consultation

Appointments are booked in advance: through the call center – (044) 334 64 18, or at the reception desk of the National Cancer Institute.

A planned consultation requires an electronic referral for a consultation with another specialist — А67001. The referral can be issued by a primary care physician or by a specialist who considers a consultation with another physician necessary. The electronic referral has a number that is sent to the patient in a message.

When booking, mention that you need a consultation at the Pain Medicine Office.

Fill in the patient questionnaire before your visit

To make the consultation as informative as possible, please fill in the pain patient questionnaire before your appointment.

You can:

• download the questionnaire from the hospital website, print it, and fill it in in advance;
• pick it up at the desk near the Pain Medicine Office, Room 313, and fill it in before your appointment.

Please arrive 15–20 minutes before your scheduled time so you have time to fill in the questionnaire.

What to bring to the consultation

We recommend bringing to the consultation:

Required:

• the completed printed pain patient questionnaire;
• results of previous examinations.

If a CT or MRI scan was performed:

• the report of the examination;
• a disc, USB drive, or other media with the actual scan images.

The written CT/MRI report alone is often not enough to plan interventional treatment, so please make sure to bring the media with the images.

Also helpful: results of previous consultations and hospital discharge summaries, if they relate to your pain.

What happens during the consultation?

During the first visit, the doctor:

1. Assesses the pain. Determines its location, intensity, character, duration, and the factors that make it worse or better.
2. Identifies the likely pain mechanism. In particular, whether the pain is nociceptive, neuropathic, nociplastic, or mixed in nature.
3. Reviews previous treatment. Evaluates the effectiveness of medications, their dosage, side effects, and the reasons for insufficient pain control.
4. Reviews examination results. If needed, the doctor reviews CT, MRI, and other test results.
5. Builds an individual treatment plan. Depending on the cause and mechanism of the pain, the doctor may recommend medication therapy, further testing, physical rehabilitation, psychological support, or interventional treatment.

Interventional pain treatment

If medication alone is not sufficient, or if there are relevant indications, therapeutic nerve blocks and other interventional pain management methods may be considered.

The decision on whether a procedure is needed is made after a consultation and an assessment of the specific clinical case. Procedures are performed on designated days – Tuesday and Thursday. Scheduling for a procedure is currently arranged individually after a consultation with the doctor.