Only cancer patients themselves can accurately determine the level of pain they are experiencing.
Initial drug selection for the treatment of pain should be based on the patient's description of pain intensity, and may require strong narcotics from the outset.
While alternatives to drug treatment, such as biofeedback, hypnosis, and acupuncture can be effective for some types of pain, most patients will require narcotics also.
Addiction, as defined by psychological drug dependence, is extremely rare when narcotics are used to treat cancer pain. Continued use of narcotics to relieve pain is not the same as being a "drug addict."'
Side effects such as nausea, vomiting, and constipation should be anticipated and countered aggressively. Most side effects are transient and are associated with the initiation of treatment.
For persistent, continuous pain, drugs should be administered "by the clock" instead of on an "as needed,"' or "PRN" basis.
The use of ineffective mixtures of weak narcotics and/or non-narcotic analgesics to delay the use of narcotics should be abandoned. There are no valid reasons to delay the use of strong narcotics if a patient is not experiencing pain relief with non-narcotic analgesics. Placebos should not be used.
Drugs should be administered orally whenever possible, and intramuscular injections, which themselves produce pain, should be avoided.
Virtually all cancer-related pain can be relieved.

Link to the publication Guidelines for Treatment of Cancer Pain