What is Fatigue or Weakness? - American Cancer Society

The fatigue that often comes with cancer is called cancer-related fatigue. It's very common. Between 80% and 100% of people with cancer ... Search Verenespañol | Downloadthistopic[PDF] FatigueandWeakness WhatIsFatigueorWeakness? ManagingFatigueorWeakness Home Treatment&Survivorship TreatmentsandSideEffects ManagingCancer-relatedSideEffects FatigueandWeakness WhatisFatigueorWeakness? Fatigueandweaknessareoftenusedtodescribethesamething.Buttheyactuallyaredifferent. Weakness Weaknessiswhenstrengthisdecreasedandextraeffortisneededtomoveacertainpartofthebodyortheentirebody.Weaknessisduetolossofmusclestrength.Weaknesscanbeabigpartofwhycancerpatientsfeelfatigue. Fatigue Fatigueisanextremefeelingoftirednessorlackofenergy,oftendescribedasbeingexhausted.Fatigueissomethingthatlastsevenwhenapersonseemstobegettingenoughsleep.Itcanhavemanycauses,includingworkingtoomuch,havingdisturbedsleep,stressandworry,nothavingenoughphysicalactivity,andgoingthroughanillnessanditstreatment. Thefatiguethatoftencomeswithcanceriscalledcancer-relatedfatigue.It'sverycommon.Between80%and100%ofpeoplewithcancerreporthavingfatigue.Thefatiguefeltbypeoplewithcancerisdifferentfromthefatigueofdailylifeanddifferentfromthetiredfeelingpeoplemightrememberhavingbeforetheyhadcancer. Peoplewithcancermightdescribeitasfeelingveryweak,listless,drained,or“washedout”thatmaydecreaseforawhilebutthencomesback. Somemayfeeltootiredtoeat,walktothebathroom,orevenusetheTVremote.Itcanbehardtothinkormove.Restmighthelpforashorttimebutdoesnotmakeitgoaway,andjustalittleactivitycanbeexhausting.Forsomepeoplewithcancer,thiskindoffatiguecausesmoredistressthanpain,nausea,vomiting,ordepression. Whatcausesfatigueandweakness ? Inpeoplewithcancer,weaknessmightbecausedbyhavingandrecoveringfromsurgery,lowbloodcountsorlowelectrolyte(bloodchemistry)levels,infection,orchangesinhormonelevels. However,thecausesofcancer-relatedfatigueareoftenhardertodeterminebecausethereareoftenmanyfactorsinvolved.Itmightbefromthecanceritselfand/orasideeffectofthecancertreatment.Howcancerandtreatmentmightcausefatigueisnotwellunderstood,butsomepossiblereasonsare: Cancerandcancertreatmentcanchangenormalproteinandhormonelevelsthatarelinkedtoinflammatoryprocesseswhichcancauseorworsenfatigue. Treatmentskillnormalcellsandcancercells,whichleadstoabuild-upofcellwaste.Yourbodyusesextraenergytocleanupandrepairdamagedtissue. Cancerformstoxicsubstancesinthebodythatchangethewaynormalcellswork. Besidesdirecteffectsofcanceranditstreatment,peoplewithcanceroftenalsoexperienceotherthingsthatcanaddtogethertoincreasefatigue.Thesearethingslikesurgery,stressandworry,changesinactivitylevel,andchangesinbloodcounts,electrolytes,andhormonelevels. Howlongdoesfatigueorweaknesslast? Fatiguethatisduetocanceranditstreatmentcanlastforweeks,months,oryears.Itoftencontinuesaftertreatmentends. Forpeoplewhohavesurgeryforcancerwithnoothertreatment,fatigueoftendecreasesorgoesawayovertimeastheyrecoverfromsurgery. Forpeoplegettingchemotherapy,targetedtherapy,orimmunotherapyincycles,fatigueoftengetsworseatfirstandmaygetbetteruntilthenexttreatment,whenthepatternstartsagain. Forthosegettingradiationtherapy,fatigueusuallygetsworseasthetreatmentgoesonandoftenlessenswithinafewmonthsaftertreatmentiscomplete. Fatiguecan: Differfromonedaytothenextinhowbaditisandhowmuchitbothersyou Beoverwhelmingandmakeithardforyoutofeelwell Makeithardforyoutobewithyourfriendsandfamily Makeithardforyoutodothingsyounormallydo,includinggoingtowork Makeitharderforyoutofollowyourcancertreatmentplan. Whattolookfor Youfeeltiredanditdoesn’tgetbetterwithrestorsleep,itkeepscomingback,oritbecomessevere. You’remoretiredthanusualduringorafteranactivity. You’refeelingtiredandit’snotrelatedtoanactivity. You’retootiredtodothethingsyounormallydo. Yourarmsandlegsfeelheavyandhardtomove. Youhavenoenergy. Youfeelveryweak. Youspendmoretimeinbedand/orsleepmore.Or,youmayhavetroublesleeping. Youstayinbedformorethan24hours. Youbecomeconfusedorcan’tconcentrateorfocusyourthoughts. Yourtirednessdisruptsyourwork,sociallife,ordailyroutine. Itmaybehardforyoutotalkaboutit,buttellyourcancercareteamaboutyourfatigue.Tellthemhowit’saffectingyourlife.Someoneonyourteamshouldbeabletohelpyouiftheyknowyou’rehavingthisproblem.Managingfatigueispartofgoodcancercare.Workwithyourcancercareteamtofindandtreatthecausesofyourfatigue.   Writtenby References TheAmericanCancerSocietymedicalandeditorialcontentteam Ourteamismadeupofdoctorsand oncologycertifiednurseswithdeepknowledgeofcancercareaswellasjournalists,editors,andtranslatorswithextensiveexperienceinmedicalwriting. BowerJE,BakK,BergerA,etal.Screening,assessment,andmanagementoffatigueinadultsurvivorsofcancer:anAmericanSocietyofClinicalOncologyclinicalpracticeguidelineadaptation. JClinOncol.2014;32(17):1840-1850. BrellJM, JonesLW.Fatigue.InNiederhuberJE,ArmitageJO,KastanMB,DoroshowJH,TepperJE,eds. Abeloff’sClinicalOncology. 6thed.Philadelphia,PA:Elsevier;2020:676-681. MitchellSA. Fatigue.InBrownCG,ed. AGuidetoOncologySymptomManagement. 2nd ed. Pittsburgh,PA:OncologyNursingSociety;2015:385-419. NationalComprehensiveCancerNetwork.(NCCN). Cancer-relatedfatigue. Version1.2019.Accessedatwww.nccn.org/professionals/physician_gls/f_guidelines.asponSeptember18,2019. OncologyNursingSociety(ONS).Symptominterventions: Fatigue.Accessedat https://www.ons.org/pep/fatigueonJanuary2,2020. QuD,ZhangZ,YuX,etal.Psychotropicdrugsforthemanagementofcancer-relatedfatigue:asystematicreviewandmeta-analysis. EurJCancerCare (Engl).2015Oct21.doi:10.1111/ecc.12397.[Epubaheadofprint] References BowerJE,BakK,BergerA,etal.Screening,assessment,andmanagementoffatigueinadultsurvivorsofcancer:anAmericanSocietyofClinicalOncologyclinicalpracticeguidelineadaptation. JClinOncol.2014;32(17):1840-1850. BrellJM, JonesLW.Fatigue.InNiederhuberJE,ArmitageJO,KastanMB,DoroshowJH,TepperJE,eds. Abeloff’sClinicalOncology. 6thed.Philadelphia,PA:Elsevier;2020:676-681. MitchellSA. Fatigue.InBrownCG,ed. AGuidetoOncologySymptomManagement. 2nd ed. Pittsburgh,PA:OncologyNursingSociety;2015:385-419. NationalComprehensiveCancerNetwork.(NCCN). Cancer-relatedfatigue. Version1.2019.Accessedatwww.nccn.org/professionals/physician_gls/f_guidelines.asponSeptember18,2019. OncologyNursingSociety(ONS).Symptominterventions: Fatigue.Accessedat https://www.ons.org/pep/fatigueonJanuary2,2020. QuD,ZhangZ,YuX,etal.Psychotropicdrugsforthemanagementofcancer-relatedfatigue:asystematicreviewandmeta-analysis. EurJCancerCare (Engl).2015Oct21.doi:10.1111/ecc.12397.[Epubaheadofprint] LastRevised:February1,2020 AmericanCancerSocietymedicalinformationiscopyrighted material.Forreprintrequests,pleaseseeourContentUsagePolicy. FatigueandWeakness WhatIsFatigueorWeakness? ManagingFatigueorWeakness BackToTop Close * Close Imageof Previous Next Close Close SelectAHopeLodge