CHARACTERIZATION OF CANCER PAIN IN PATIENTS UNDERGOING RADIOTHERAPY CARACTERIZAÇÃO DA DOR ONCOLÓGICA EM PACIENTES SUBMETIDOS À RADIOTERAPIA

Objectives: to set the profile of the patients submitted to radiotherapy by gender and age and characterize the cancer pain. Methodology: descriptive and exploratory study with quantitative approach, developed in March and April 2010 in a charity hospital located in Teresina-PI, with 67 cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy. Data collection was conducted through a questionnaire applied through direct interviews, and data were analyzed with the software Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) version 17.0. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee in Research from Federal University of Piaui under CAAE number 0237.045.000-09. Results: they revealed that patients were mostly female, 65.7% of cases, the dominant age group was between 51 and 70 years (43.3%), of all patients on radiotherapy, 71.6 % also had surgery and 67.2% were taking concomitant chemotherapy; cervical cancer was the most prevalent with 23.9% of cases, followed by rectal cancer (14.9%) and breast cancer (13.4 %); 94.0% had localized pain, 29.8% had pain like stabbing, 38.8% had moderate pain and 32.8% severe pain. Conclusion: the cancer pain was present, in a moderate or severe way, in most people with advanced age and who were in "multitherapy", since the majority of patients performed other concomitant treatment with radiotherapy. This pain affects considerably the quality of life of these patients. Thus, this study will provide health professionals, especially nurses, greater knowledge about the profile of cancer patients and their pain complaints. Descriptors: pain; cancer; radiotherapy.