Pain Neuroscience Education in cancer survivors with persistent pain: A pilot study

Purpose: To describe the Pilot Study: Pain Neuroscience Education in Cancer Survivors and describe the innovative educational component of Pain Neuroscience Education (PNE). Design: Quasi experimental design. Method: The PNE program, encompassing a one-on-one education session and an information leaflet was given to 30 cancer survivors. At baseline and two weeks after the PNE, participants were asked to fill out following outcome measures; pain intensity, pain catastrophizing, and HRQoL. Findings: Following PNE, a significant decrease on pain intensity (p = 0.001), on the SF-36 subscale pain (p = 0.003) and for the following PCS subscales: Helplessness (p < 0.001), Rumination (p = 0.002) and Total score (p < 0.001) was found compared to baseline. Conclusions: Although the current results need to be verified in a larger randomized, controlled trial, preliminary evidence shows a decrease in pain intensity and pain catastrophizing following PNE in cancer survivors with persistent pain.