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Cancer Fatigue
 The actual incidence of cancer fatigue varies, with reports ranging from 60 to over 90 percent. Fatigue may be a sign of the cancer itself or a side effect from cancer therapy. Besides tiredness, symptoms of fatigue can include nausea, stress, depression, anxiety, change in activity level or rest patterns, loss of appetite, and weight changes. Many cancer patients are more concerned about fatigue than they are about cancer pain. Exercise has helped many combat their fatigue. The following questions might help you evaluate your fatigue and plan a way to minimize it.
- How long have you felt this way?
- Does rest help?
- Does exercise help?
- When does it most often occur?
- What activities does it stop you from doing?
- When do you feel the best?
- How physically active are you?
- Have you spoken with your physician about your fatigue?
- Have you experienced a significant change in weight — either gain or loss?
- Could the fatigue be a complication of medications?
- Is the fatigue due to the disease process? Worry? Memory problems? Sleep deprivation?
- What have you tried that has been effective?
- How long was it effective or has it been effective?
- What has happened to make it no longer effective?
If you are experiencing fatigue, talk with your physician to determinewhether or not medications may help your symptoms. The following tips may be helpful:
- Avoid lying in bed at night when alert, tossing and turning.
- When you can’t sleep, get out of bed and maybe even go to a different room. Don’t read or watch television in bed.
- Sometimes it is helpful to take a shower or hot bath in the middle of the night. When you return to bed, you may sleep better.
- Consider playing music or listening to tapes that put you to sleep.
- Avoid eating sugar, especially chocolate, prior to bedtime.
Instead of counting sheep, you might want to list three beautiful things you have seen that day. Once you have identified those, add three sounds you remember hearing, three feelings you are experiencing at the present moment, and three things for which you are thankful. If you are still awake, list five beautiful things you have seen that day, five sounds you remember hearing, five feelings you are experiencing, and five things for which you are thankful. Listing these items often helps you direct your thoughts from worries to gratitude, and results in a peaceful sleep. Write down worries that keep you from sleeping. Identify those beyond your control. When you can’t sleep, get out of bed, read your list, acknowledge those that you cannot alter. For the items where you can make a difference, think about what you can do. Think also about what you don’t want to do, that maybe you could do, but choose not to. Log your levels of fatigue. On a scale of one to ten, how tired are you? Write your level of fatigue on the Daily Exercise Plan located at the end of this pamphlet. Monitor your changes. Hopefully this log will show your improvements over time, indicating that your exercise has helped.
no fatigue
at all |
okay |
worst fatigue
imaginable |
Patients undergoing chemotherapy often have temporary depressions in their blood cell counts. Your blood levels should serve as a guide to your exercise plans when you are on active treatment.
Red blood cells carry oxygen from your lungs to all parts of your body. This oxygen acts like fuel, providing energy for organs and muscles. The part of the red blood cell that carries oxygen is called hemoglobin. If hemoglobin levels drop below normal levels, it is called anemia. For a hemoglobin count of less than 10, most exercise is permitted; however fatigue will set in quickly, due to the body’s decreased ability to deliver oxygen to the cells and tissues of the body. More than half of all chemotherapy patients develop anemia during the course of their treatment. While chemotherapy destroys cancer cells, it can also temporarily reduce the number of normal cells, including red blood cells. As a result, you have a reduced amount of oxygen being transported to all parts of your body, causing you to feel tired.
next: Counting Cells
return to Table of Contents
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