All of us feel tired at some point of time in a day. It is normal to feel tired after hectic works. Take a nap, have some rest or just enjoy a cup of coffee and you will feel the flow of energy back in your body for giddy-up.
But unexplained fatigue or fatigue that does not go away after a nap or some rest could be a symptom of serious illnesses like cancer. For cancer patients, fatigue is caused by the disease or its treatments. Hence, fatigue is both a symptom and side-effect of cancer. According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), all cancer patients experience fatigue that is way beyond feeling normal tiredness.
The ACS says that the tiredness experienced by cancer patients is way different from the type and level of fatigue they used to feel before they had the disease.
Why Cancer Causes Fatigue?
Cancer has a devastating impact on your body even when it is localized. Just imagine what devastating impact it produces after cancer metastasizes to other organs. The disease may weaken muscles, damage organs and affect oxygen-carrying cells throughout your body. Hence, cancer patients feel tired even when they are not doing heavy works.
Apart from cancer, cancer treatments like chemotherapy and radiotherapy, contribute to your experience of fatigue. The disease also takes an emotional toll on your health by striking fear, anxiety and stress. All these aggravate the problem of tiredness and create a seemingly endless loop of exhaustion.
Anthony Perre, MD, New Patient Intake Physician at City of Hope Atlanta, who is also a Hodgkin Lymphoma survivor, admits that fatigue was one of the most serious issues he had to deal with. Fatigue is one of the most difficult problems that the patients at cancer hospitals in Kolkata experience. In fact, emotional trauma continues to haunt cancer patients even after many years of cancer diagnosis and their recovery.
Fatigue does not go away immediately after cancer patients are done with their treatment. The fear of recurrence is still present in them. Therefore, fatigue lasts longer in many cancer patients.
What is Specific about Cancer-Related Fatigue?
A cancer diagnosis comes with loads of physical, mental and emotional health issues. Stress and anxiety put an extra burden on cancer patients who are dealing with a range of physical issues brought by the disease. The continuous challenges to cope with emerging problems often kick tiredness and take it to a new level.
The root cause of fatigue in cancer patients varies widely from one to another. Some patients get back to normal life within a few months of their treatment being over. In some patients, tiredness is caused by emotional issues. For others, cancer treatments cause some serious physical changes including tiredness.
One common aspect of cancer-related tiredness is it prevents cancer patients from doing their normal physical activities. For the high-energy people, cancer-related fatigue is more obvious as they feel their energy level dropping to nadir and even frequent naps cannot end their problem.
It is one thing to experience tiredness after a long day of work. Many people can easily power though tiredness until their midday nap or bedtime. According to the oncologists at the best cancer hospital in Kolkata, cancer-related fatigue is completely different. It goes way beyond muscle weakness and physical malaise. It adversely affects cognitive abilities as well. Cancer is more common in older people. Hence, they are more likely to experience fatigue after their cancer diagnosis as well as during and after treatment.
“The fatigue related to my cancer was like a weight I simply couldn’t push off,” he says. “There would be times when I’d feel absolutely fine, but then the bottom just fell out and I’d crash physically and could not go a step further. My body would not respond or react. I just literally had to stop in my tracks. I would just nod out or become incoherent, where I just could not really react or respond to you in any way.”
What causes cancer-related fatigue?
The better question may be: Which aspect of cancer doesn’t cause fatigue? “Fatigue is often multifactorial, meaning more than one contributing factor may be involved, and none of them may be cancer,” Dr. Ahn wrote.
Potential causes of low energy levels brought on by cancer may include one or a combination of the following:
- Cancer treatments or medicines, especially chemotherapy and radiation therapy
- Anemia, a low red blood-cell count
- Anxiety, stress and depression
- Lack of sleep
- Malnutrition caused by a loss of appetite or the inability to process food into energy
- Dehydration from vomiting or diarrhea
- Hormone imbalances, such as low levels of testosterone
- Other health conditions, such as heart disease or obesity