Hina Khan, currently undergoing treatment for stage three breast cancer, shared her struggles with the side effects of chemotherapy - severe neuropathic pain - a condition that is impacting her daily life. “As you all know, I have this crippling neuropathic pain and it makes standing more than a few minutes at a stretch extremely difficult," she wrote on social media.

The 37-year-old actor also mentioned that the pains are making it impossible for her to stand.

Also known as cancer-related neuropathic pain or CRNP, this condition is a type of chronic suffering caused by damage to the nerves due to the cancer itself or its treatments like chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or surgery.

According to doctors, the pain often manifests as burning, tingling, or stabbing sensations in the affected areas, and significantly impacts a patient's quality of life. It is considered a complex pain management challenge due to its unique characteristics and often requires specialized medications beyond standard pain relievers like opioids and painkillers.

These pains are experienced at all levels of your neural system - including peripheral nerves, the spinal cord, and the brain. The damaged nerve fibres deliver wrong signals to pain centers in your body, leading to agony.

According to statistics, more than 40 per cent of cancer patients get affected by neuropathic pains.

Experts say a few signs and symptoms of neuropathic pain include:

The feeling of a burning, stabbing, or electric shock-like pain across various parts of the body

If you have neuropathic pain, you may feel extremely sensitive to touch, cold, or heat in certain areas of your body.

You may feel extreme muscle weakness, especially in your feet.

Insomnia

Neuropathic pain can give you sleepless nights or interrupt your sleep

Any unexpected sensations that are unusual, unpleasant, or painful.

Those with severe pain in their feet may even lose balance while walking or even standing.

According to doctors, the clinical characteristics and management of NCP differ from purely nociceptive and inflammatory cancer pain. It is important to differentiate NCP from other types of cancer pain, as it is associated with worse pain outcomes and requires different treatment strategies. A few of these include:

The most important step to treat neuropathic pain is to immediately contact your doctor who suggests suitable medications for the condition.

Adapt healthy lifestyle habits like regular exercising, a healthy diet, quitting smoking, avoiding alcohol, keep tracking your blood sugar levels.

It helps to ease the soreness, stiffness, and discomfort caused by neuropathic pain. According to experts, it also motivates your body to manufacture more natural pain-relieving substances.

In a few cases, the doctor would suggest you undergo surgery to treat neuropathic pain. Severe neuropathic pain can lead to depression, anxiety, and even cognitive changes.

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