Often people confuse fatigue with tiredness and people often get tired. If you tend to feel tired after some activities. One of he most common side effects of cancer and its treatments is Cancer related fatigue.
Reasons why people suffer from cancer related fatigue
• Cause inflammation.
• Make you nauseated and dehydrated.
• Change hormone levels.
• Damage tissues and cells.
Experts don’t know the exact cause yet. Some of the treatments that cause fatigue are:
A chemotherapy mainly leads to fatigue which may vary from person to person. Radiation therapy also cause cumulative fatigue which is bound to happen irrespective of your treatment size and it usually lasts from 3-4 weeks after treatment stops, but can go for at least 2-3 months. Lastly, bone marrow transplant can cause cancer fatigue that lasts up to one year as the treatment tends to be quite aggressive.
How can you say you suffer from cancer fatigue?
One needs to think of their personal energy stores as a "bank where some deposits and withdrawals have to be made over the course of the day or the week to strike a perfect balance between energy conservation, restoration and expenditure. They need to keep a diary for one week to identify the time of day when they are either most fatigued or have the most energy. People need to be alert to the warning signs of impending cancer fatigue including weakness or malaise, boredom or lack of motivation.
Diagnosing cancer fatigue:
One’s doctor can assess their symptoms and they might be asked to complete a questionnaire or rate their fatigue level. The doctor might also ask them to keep a journal to track their level of fatigue and factors that might contribute to fatigue. One of the best ways to combat fatigue is to treat the underlying cause and people can go for a plethora of treatments to reduce certain causes of cancer fatigue, including anemia or hypothyroidism. One needs to Conserve energy, Eat a healthy diet and conserve energy as much as possible.
