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Cancer Fatigue Management

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Cancer patients suffer from many physical side effects. The most prevalent and longest lasting of these effects is fatigue. Cancer-related fatigue is most often caused by anemia, a condition where the quantity of red blood cells is lowered, thereby preventing sufficient oxygen from reaching organs and tissues. Anemia can be a side effect of cancer, but is commonly caused by chemotherapy, a cancer treatment. Greater than 50 percent of all chemotherapy treated patients experience anemia. Chemotherapy reduces bone marrow's ability to produce red blood cells, which makes chemotherapy patients more likely to become anemic. Symptoms of anemia include extreme weakness, shortness of breath, and dizziness or fainting, making physical and mental fatigue inevitable.

Several surveys show upwards of 75% of cancer patients suffer from anemia and other kinds of fatigue such as physical, mental, and emotional, and have been forced, at one point or another, to drop work responsibilities or limit their working hours as a result. A new national survey of 379 (conducted by the The Fatigue Coalition) chemotherapy patients reveals that cancer-related fatigue, a condition commonly caused by chemotherapy-induced anemia, impacts female patients' physical, economic and emotional well being more than it affects their male counterparts'. In fact, of the 247 women surveyed, more than eight in ten (81%) experienced some level of debilitating fatigue while only 60% of male respondents experienced the same. Furthermore, women who suffered from fatigue said that fatigue interferes with their lives more than any other treatment-related side effect.

Fatigue weighs heavily on the overall quality of life, and becomes an obstacle to maintaining daily activities. Although everyone understands occasional exhaustion, cancer related fatigue sufferers are exhausted on a larger scale and for longer periods of time. Of the 274 women surveyed in the above study, 74% found it harder to clean the house, 72% had trouble walking distances, and 61% had difficulty running everyday errands. Many patients report a total loss of energy, loss of concentration, and insomnia. Simple tasks like showering, bathing a child, or just getting up to answer the telephone may seem equivalent to an aerobic workout for healthy individuals.

While surveys conclude that women report that the effects of fatigue outweigh other cancer-related ailments like pain, nausea, and depression, it often goes unrecognized or untreated. Severe fatigue is positively correlated with missed workdays, intimacy problems, and even depression. Unfortunately, many patients find it difficult to communicate the severity of their fatigue to their doctors, and doctors rarely ask patients whether or not they are experiencing fatigue as a side effect of their cancer treatment. In the few cases that they do, Doctors tend to give nonspecific responses to this ailment.

As a result of this break down in communication, less than 10 percent of physicians prescribe drugs for patients who suffer from this often-debilitating condition. However, doctors, nurses, and patients are beginning to spread the word about cancer-related fatigue, and how it is no longer necessary for cancer patients to suffer with this side effect. In addition to certain medications, Doctors are recommending treatments for fatigue such as exercise, moderate activity and nutritional support, as well as blood transfusions to treat anemia, vitamin supplements, and counseling. With the wide range of symptoms and possible remedies, the key to the successful treatment of fatigue is determining a specific cause. With this new information, cancer-related fatigue is becoming a well-known side effect of cancer treatments, and is commanding more attention.