Your doctor may suggest that there is no further treatment that can be given to control your cancer. This does not mean that ‘nothing more can be done’, but rather that the aim of your treatment is changing. Rather than trying to shrink the cancer, the aim will now be to ease troublesome or distressing symptoms. This will make sure that you are comfortable and will give you the best possible quality of life.

Not everyone with advanced cancer has pain. But if you do it can usually be well controlled with medicines. If you have pain that is disturbing you it needs to be treated and it’s important to let your doctor know.

Non-drug treatments for pain can be used alone or alongside drug treatments. They include radiotherapy, nerve blocks, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), acupuncture, hypnotherapy and relaxation techniques. Specialist pain clinics offer these methods of pain control, and your GP or cancer specialist can refer you to one of the clinics or to a symptom control team.

Some people with advanced cancer have nausea and vomiting. This may be due to the cancer or may be a side effect of some medicines. Let your doctor or nurse know if you have nausea or vomiting, as a lot can be done to relieve or control it. It can be helpful to avoid fatty and fried foods. Eating small meals and snacks, and drinking small amounts of fizzy drinks, can also help with nausea and vomiting. Our diet section has lots of suggestions for coping with eating problems.

Other symptoms you may have and which can be treated or relieved include:

• tiredness
• loss of appetite
• bowel or bladder problems
• breathlessness
• ascites (a build up of fluid in the tummy)
• skin rashes
• sleep disturbances
• swollen ankles and legs.

Many of these symptoms are discussed in our section, controlling the symptoms of cancer.