What About Tiredness That Becomes A Severe Burden
A final aspect of the cancer fatigue conversation comes up when those receiving treatment begin to experience dramatic changes in the severity and frequency of fatigue. When fatigue becomes persistent and interferes with your ability to perform basic daily function, tell your doctor. More importantly, if fatigue reaches an extreme point and causes confusion, dizziness, loss of balance, severe shortness of breath or leaves you bedridden for more than 24 hours, contact your care team immediately. While it is normal to sleep more than typical after a radiotherapy session, these symptoms greatly increase your risk of injury and could lead to the worsening of your overall health.
What Causes Fatigue In People With Cancer
Causes of cancer-related fatigue are complex, wide-ranging and not yet fully understood. Lifestyle, including poor nutrition, lack of exercise and alcohol consumption can be factors. CRF is also affected by sleep disturbances, certain medicines and your mental health prior to a cancer diagnosis. Many causes of CRF are linked to the cancer itself or the treatment youre receiving for your cancer.
Causes of CRF linked to cancer include the following:
Fatigue Isoften Treated By Relieving Relatedconditions
Treatment of fatigue depends on the symptoms and whether the cause of fatigue is known. When the cause of fatigue is not known, treatment is usually given to relieve symptoms and teach you ways to cope with fatigue.
Treatment of anemia
Anemia causes fatigue, so treating anemia when the cause of anemia is known, helps decrease fatigue. When the cause is not known, treatment for anemia is supportive care and may include the following:
- Change in diet
Eat more foods rich in iron and vitamins combined with other treatments for anemia.
- Transfusions of red blood cells
Transfusions work well to treat anemia. Even though problems from a transfusion are low, there are risks of an allergic reaction, infection, graft-versus-host disease, immune system changes, and too much iron in the blood.
- Medicine
Drugs called erythropoiesis-stimulating agents cause the bone marrow to make more red blood cells and may be used to treat anemia-related fatigue in terminal patients receiving chemotherapy.Since ESAs increase the risk of blood clots, few patients are offered this treatment. The Food and Drug Administration has not approved these drugs for the treatment of fatigue. Discuss the risks and benefits of these drugs with your doctor.
Treatment of pain and depression
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Can A Dietitian Help Me Fight Cancer Fatigue
Dietitians can provide suggestions to work around any symptoms that may be interfering with caloric intake. They can help you find ways to take in calories despite an early feeling of fullness, swallowing difficulty or taste changes. Dietitians can also suggest ways of maximizing calories and proteins in smaller amounts of food. They may suggest powdered milk, instant breakfast drinks and other commercial supplements or food additives.
How Much Rest Do Chemo Patients Need
Good night’s rest A full night’s sleep is vital for anyone who has had chemotherapy. Patients should get at least eight hours of sleep if possible. To help sleep throughout the night, recovering patients should not consume beverages or food high in caffeine at least eight hours before retiring for the night…. view details
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Psychological And Biobehavioral Risk Factors
Pre-treatment fatigue
Across studies, the strongest and most consistent predictor of post-treatment fatigue is pre-treatment fatigue. Patients who report higher levels of fatigue before radiation and/or chemotherapy also report elevated fatigue immediately after treatment completion94, over the following year35, 95, 96, and up to 2.5 years later97. In studies that compared multiple predictors, pre-treatment fatigue emerged as one of the strongest, if not the strongest predictor of fatigue in the post-treatment period35, 95. Together, these findings suggest that whatever biological, psychological, or behavioral dysregulation contributes to cancer-related fatigue may be present before treatment onset.
Depression
Sleep disturbance
Physical activity, physical deconditioning, and body mass index
Coping and appraisal
Other psychosocial risk factors
Emerging evidence has identified other psychological risk factors for cancer-related fatigue. Exposure to childhood stress, including experiences of abuse and neglect, is associated with elevated fatigue in cross-sectional studies of breast cancer survivors110, 111. These findings are consistent with research conducted in non-cancer populations showing that early life stress is associated with increased risk for fatigue112â114. Loneliness is also associated with elevated fatigue in cancer survivors and predicts increases in fatigue over time115.
How Can I Fight Fatigue
The best way to combat fatigue is to treat the underlying medical cause. Unfortunately, the exact cause is often unknown, or there may be multiple causes.
Causes of fatigue must be managed on an individual basis. For example, there are treatments that may improve fatigue caused by an under-active thyroid or anemia. The following guidelines may help you combat fatigue.
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How Much Sleep Does A Cancer Patient Need
During cancer treatment, the need for sleep may increase some, as the body repairs itself. Most people need from 7-9 hours of sleep. The need for sleep does not decrease as we age, as popular myths proclaim. It is important for you to talk with your doctor about your sleep concerns…. continue reading
What Caregivers Can Do
- Help schedule friends and family members to prepare meals, clean the house, do yard work, or run errands for the patient. You can use websites that help organize these things, or ask a family member to look into this for you.
- Try not to push the patient to do more than they are able to.
- Help the patient set up a routine for activities during the day.
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About Radiation Therapy To The Brain
Radiation therapy uses high-energy rays to treat cancer. It works by damaging the cancer cells and making it hard for them to reproduce. Your body then is naturally able to get rid of these damaged cancer cells. Radiation therapy also affects normal cells. However, your normal cells are able to repair themselves in a way that cancer cells cant.
Radiation can be given to treat primary tumors in your brain or tumors that have spread to your brain from another part of your body . Your doctor will decide whether youll receive partial or whole brain radiation. Youll have either external beam radiation therapy or stereotactic radiosurgery depending on your treatment plan.
During external beam radiation, a treatment machine will aim beams of radiation directly to the tumor. The beam passes through your body and destroys cancer cells in its path. You wont see or feel the radiation.
Stereotactic radiosurgery can be used in some tumors and is even more precise. It targets a small area in your brain with high doses of radiation and delivers lower doses of radiation to the normal tissue around it. Youre able to receive higher doses to the tumor at each treatment session, which shortens the overall course of treatment.
Radiation therapy takes time to work. It takes days or weeks of treatment before cancer cells start to die, and they keep dying for weeks or months after radiation therapy.
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Nutrition Needs Change And Cause Or Increase Fatigue
For many patients, the effects of cancer and cancer treatments make it hard to eat well. The body’s energy comes from food. Fatigue may occur if the body does not take in enough food to give the body the energy it needs. In people with cancer, three major factors may affect nutrition:
- A change in the way the body uses food. A patient may eat the same amount as before having cancer, but the body may not be able to absorb and use all the nutrients from the food. This is caused by the cancer or its treatment.
- An increase in the amount of energy needed by the body because of a growing tumor, infection, fever, or shortness of breath.
- A decrease in the amount of food eaten because of low appetite, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or a blocked bowel.
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How Can I Manage Skin Problems
You may notice that your skin in the treatment area begins to look reddened, irritated, sunburned or tanned. After a few weeks your skin may become very dry. Ask your doctor or nurse for advice on relieving itching or discomfort.
With some kinds of radiation therapy, treated skin may develop a moist reaction, especially in areas where there are skin folds. When this happens, the skin is wet and it may become very sore. Its important to notify your doctor or nurse if your skin develops a moist reaction. You might find it helpful to seek care from an onco-dermatologist, a doctor who specializes in caring for skin problems cancer patients encounter.
Be very gentle with the skin in the treatment area. Avoid irritating treated skin, which can compromise the stratum corneum . When you wash, use only lukewarm water and mild soap. Dont wear tight clothing over the treatment area. Its important not to rub, scrub or scratch any sensitive spots. Also avoid putting anything that is very hot or very coldsuch as heating pads or ice packson your treated skin. Dont use any powders, creams, perfumes, deodorants, body oils, ointments, lotions, or home remedies in the treatment area while youre being treated or for several weeks afterward . Thats because many skin products can leave a coating on the skin that can interfere with radiation therapy or healing.
Certain Drugs Are Being Studied For Cancer Fatigue
The following drugs are being studied for cancer fatigue:
- Psychostimulants are drugs that improve mood and help decrease fatigue and depression. Psychostimulant drugs may help some patients have more energy, a better mood, and help them think and concentrate. The use of psychostimulants for treating fatigue is still being studied. The FDA has not approved psychostimulants for the treatment of fatigue.
- Bupropion is an antidepressant that is being studied to treat fatigue in patients with or without depression.
- Steroids are being studied in patients with advanced cancer. Dexamethasone is a steroid that reduces inflammation, but has unwanted side effects. In one clinical trial, patients who received dexamethasone reported less fatigue than the group that received a placebo.
Talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of these drugs.
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How Can I Manage My Fatigue
Even though your normal response to fatigue will be to rest, its important that you keep moving as much as possible. Research shows that spending long periods in bed or lying down can actually make fatigue worse.
Tips to help manage fatigue:
- Incorporate basic exercise, such as walking, into your day. Exercise, especially in the morning, has been shown to greatly assist in reducing fatigue.
- Eat a healthy diet.
- Keep hydrated by drinking plenty of water.
- Organise practical help at home, such as help with childcare, housework or making meals.
- Give your body time to recover after treatment. Try to work up to your usual level of daily activity rather than stepping straight back into old routines.
- Take time to rest throughout the day between activities, but limiting the length of naps so that you are still able to sleep at night. If you are facing sleepless nights during your breast cancer treatment, BCNA’s Sleepless nights: breast cancer and sleep fact sheet provides more tips and strategies that may be helpful.
- Discuss how you feel with a support group or counsellor. You can find a support group near you on the BCNA website or join BCNAs online network to connect with others affected by breast cancer.
You can also discuss your fatigue with your medical treatment team. They may be able to suggest approaches to help reduce or manage fatigue.
How Is Cancer Fatigue Managed Or Treated
The first step in treating fatigue is knowing the problem exists. Many people donât bother to mention fatigue to their doctors because they believe it is normal. Itâs vital that you discuss this and all symptoms or side effects with your healthcare provider. Then, efforts can be directed at determining the cause of the problem and prescribing appropriate treatment. Your particular cancer treatment regimen, with its known side effects, may provide clues for your doctor or health care professional. A simple blood test, for example, can determine if you are anemic.
There is no single medication available to treat fatigue. However, there are medications available that can treat some of the underlying causes.
When youre struggling, you may want to see a palliative care specialist. These experts help people with cancer manage symptoms like pain, nausea and depression.
Your provider or palliative care team may recommend these actions to ease fatigue:
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Can You Survive Radiation Poisoning
Depending on how much radiation is absorbed, the answer to the question Can you survive radiation poisoning is a resounding no. While a single exposure of 400 rads can kill 50% of humans, repeated exposures of three to ten times this amount can cause more serious side effects. While a single high dose of radiation causes immediate damage to cells and tissues, it is also used in cancer treatments to eliminate tumour cells. Regardless of the type of ionizing radiation exposure, people who have suffered a lethal dose have few chances of survival. They are treated with medications that control the symptoms and keep them under observation, so they can be kept under close surveillance.
Acute radiation syndrome occurs in a few hours after exposure, and symptoms include nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, and anemia. Acute radiation syndrome is a potentially fatal condition. It is not uncommon to have a weakened immune system. Symptoms of acute radiodermatitis can appear 24 hours after exposure and may not appear until several days later, depending on the dose. If not treated, the symptoms can cause death.
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Feeling Tired Because Of Sleeping Problems Anxiety Or Depression
Tiredness, depression, anxiety and problems sleeping often appear together in some people. Researchers think there is a link between cancer tiredness and depression. Sleeping problems, anxiety or depression may make your tiredness worse. But extreme tiredness can also cause emotional distress in some people.
A short course of sleeping tablets might help. It can help to get you back into your sleeping pattern. Your doctor might suggest anti depressants if depression is causing you sleeping problems. You need to take these for a few months to get the most out of them. Most anti depressants take a few weeks to start to work. Talk to your doctor or nurse if you feel depressed.
Sleeping problems, depression and tiredness can be difficult to cope with. But there are things you can do and people that can help.
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What Causes Cancer Fatigue
This page adheres to our medical and editorial policy and guidelines.
Cancer and its treatment often cause fatigue, known as cancer-related fatigue. Between 80 percent to 100 percent of cancer patients report experiencing fatigue, according to the American Cancer Society.
If you havent been diagnosed with cancer and youre experiencing unexplained, persistent tiredness or lack of energy, you may be wondering if your fatigue could be a symptom of cancer.
While fatigue is a common symptom of cancer, cancer rarely causes fatigue alone. Fatigue is often multifactorial, meaning more than one contributing factor may be involved, and none of them may be cancer.
No matter its cause, fatigue is one of the toughest symptoms to deal with. When patients are struggling with fatigue in their daily life, they want to feel better, and theyre looking for someone to help them. As a medical oncologist at Cancer Treatment Centers of America® , I work every day to help patients enjoy a better quality of life while we fight their cancer.
In this article, Ill cover some common factors that may contribute to cancer-related fatigue. This article examines:
The main focus of this article is on patients whove already received a cancer diagnosis. But first, lets briefly explore fatigue as a symptom of undiagnosed cancer.
How Long Does Cancer Fatigue Last
Everyones experience with cancer fatigue is unique. For some people, fatigue lasts a few weeks. Others may feel exhausted for years. You may feel better when your cancer treatments stop, but often fatigue lingers.
- Bone marrow transplants can cause prolonged fatigue that lasts up to a year.
- Radiation therapy fatigue often gets worse as treatments progress. Fatigue should lessen a few months after you stop treatment.
- Surgery tends to cause temporary fatigue that goes away after you recover.
- Systemic treatments can cause fatigue that comes and goes. These treatments include chemotherapy, immunotherapy and targeted therapy. You may be exhausted while taking the medications and feel better during the recovery phase . When treatment resumes, you feel exhausted again. You should have more energy when you finish the treatment.
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What Else Contributes To Cancer
Cancer cells compete for nutrients, often at the expense of the normal cells’ growth. In addition to fatigue, weight loss and decreased appetite are common.
Decreased nutrition from the side effects of treatments can cause fatigue.
Cancer treatments, specifically chemotherapy, can decrease the number of red blood cells, causing anemia. Red blood cells deliver oxygen throughout the body, so when tissues don’t get enough oxygen, you can feel fatigue.
Some drugs used to treat side effects such as nausea, pain, depression, anxiety, and seizures can cause fatigue.
Research shows that pain also plays a role in fatigue.
Stress can worsen feelings of fatigue. Stress can result from dealing with the disease and the “unknowns,” as well as from worrying about daily accomplishments or trying to meet the expectations of others.
Depression and fatigue often go hand-in-hand. It may not be clear which started first. One way to sort this out is to try to understand your depressed feelings and how they affect your life. If you are depressed all the time, were depressed before your cancer diagnosis, are preoccupied with feeling worthless and useless, you may need treatment for depression.
