Cancer can also cause your body to release cytokines, naturally produced substances that help your body to fight infections and cancer but that can cause fatigue when released at high levels. Cancer cells use calories and nutrients that your body needs for energy, making you feel fatigued. Sometimes the source of fatigue in someone with cancer is the cancer itself. Additional sources of fatigue may be stress, changes to your schedule, and other medical conditions. not feeling rested, even after sleepingĬancer itself, cancer treatments, and the side effects of treatment can cause fatigue.having a sense of physical, emotional, and/or mental exhaustion.having difficulty thinking, remembering, or paying attention.having difficulty moving feeling heavy or slow.having no energy feeling extremely tired, drained, or lethargic.Whether and how you experience fatigue depends on factors such as the type of cancer, stage of cancer, cancer treatment(s) you are receiving, and your overall physical and emotional health, nutrition, and sleep patterns. They may have other suggestions or treatments that can help. Lastly, talk with your doctor or nurse if you still feel very tired after trying these tips. Staying active will give you more energy.Īnd take short naps – no longer than 1 hour at a time. If you are able to work, plan a work schedule around your treatments. Make choices about how much you can handle each day. Let's review some tips that can help you feel less tired.įirst, slow down – try to do fewer things. This is long enough for me to feel rested, but I am still able to sleep 8 hours each night. I take a nap each day, but my doctor told me to keep naps short – less than 1 hour at a time. I was surprised to learn how much a little exercise helped. I started with short walks, and before I knew it, I was walking 45 minutes a day. I took her advice and found that I felt better when I stayed active. She told me that getting a little exercise, for even a short amount of time every day, could actually give me more energy. I asked my doctor what I could do to stop feeling so tired and worn out. Plan a work schedule that is right for you. He was able to take some medical leave during his treatment. A friend in my support group didn't have the energy to keep working. I was able to talk with my boss, and we planned a work schedule around my treatments. For example, if my son had a baseball game at night, I would skip running errands that day so I would have enough energy to see him play.Īlthough I felt pretty tired, I still needed to go to work. I had to make choices about how much I could handle each day. My doctor said taking care of myself should be my top priority right now. Listen to some tips that have helped others like you who are receiving radiation therapy. In fact, it is normal to feel very tired during this time. It does not mean that the treatment is not working. It does not mean that your cancer is getting worse. Most people getting radiation therapy feel fatigued. What to do when you feel very tired during radiation therapy.įeeling weak, tired, or worn out? This is called fatigue. Radiation Therapy Audio Transcript What To Do When You Feel Weak, Tired, or Worn Out (Fatigue) Although cancer fatigue can feel overwhelming, your health care team can help you find ways to manage, treat, and cope with fatigue that are tailored to you. Cancer fatigue can affect many areas of your lifeįatigue can affect not only your daily activities but also your family, work, and social life. Fatigue usually decreases after cancer treatment ends, but some people may still feel fatigue for months or years. Fatigue may worsen gradually as you go through treatment, or it may come on suddenly. Sometimes it’s an early symptom of cancer, or it can be brought on by the stress of a cancer diagnosis. Cancer fatigue can occur at any timeįatigue can begin at any time-before, during, or after cancer treatment. More than 80% of people with cancer experience fatigue while receiving chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Cancer fatigue is commonĬancer fatigue is one of the most common side effects of cancer treatment. However, cancer fatigue is not completely relieved by sleep or rest and may happen after no or minimal activity. When a healthy person is tired, fatigue is usually caused by activity and goes away after resting or sleeping. Cancer fatigue may also be called cancer-related fatigue or cancer treatment–related fatigue.Ĭancer fatigue is different from fatigue you may have felt in the past. Some people with cancer have extreme fatigue most of the time and are unable to carry out day-to-day tasks. Getting support if you have cancer fatigueĬancer fatigue is a condition caused by cancer or cancer treatment in which you feel exhausted or extremely tired. Talking with your doctor about cancer fatigue
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