Pain and emotional distress are relevant risk factors as clinicians assess for aberrant opioid-associated behavior and provide adequate and responsible pain relief to patients who engage in behaviors that may be interpreted as drug seeking in nature. The present case illustrates how undertreated pain and treatment-related anxiety affected the opioid use of a young adult with cancer. Because these risk factors were identified during the initial consult, the treatment team was able to implement a multimodal and multidisciplinary treatment approach that provided the patient with better analgesia and coping skills for anxiety.
Keywords: anxiety; opioids; pain management; palliative care; pediatric.