How does cancer related fatigue affect you?
How does cancer related fatigue affect you?
Cancer related fatigue affects everyone differently, and for most people who experience it, it will fluctuate in severity at different stages of their cancer journey.
Cancer related fatigue can be a distressing symptom as it affects us not only physically, but also mentally and emotionally. Some people describe it as a full body fatigue or like a wave of fatigue that washes over them.
For some people it presents as reduced motivation to complete tasks that they find challenging or fatiguing. Whilst others prioritise using the energy they have to complete the tasks they feel they ‘have’ to do, often putting enjoyable activities to the side due to lack of energy.
To better understand how fatigue affects us we will look at its three different areas:
Physical fatigue
This is the fatigue people will be most familiar with, it is the muscle and body tiredness that comes when you have been physically active, for example cleaning the house or having a shower. All of us will have experienced this regularly throughout our lives, whether following exercise or carrying the shopping from the car. The difference with cancer related fatigue is that it can feel as though the level of fatigue is mismatched to the level of activity completed, those things that you previously did without thinking about can now feel like climbing a mountain.
Mental fatigue
Mental fatigue is related to our brain needing to work harder to complete a task, in particular when remembering information or focusing on a task or information. The challenge with this is kind of fatigue is that we often don’t notice our brain getting tired until it is too late and we start to get distracted or find remembering information more challenging. This type of fatigue can be particularly challenging for people who are working or studying, as these tasks often require longer periods of prolonged concentration.
Emotional fatigue
For many people a cancer diagnosis comes with a multitude of different emotions, some of which will be more draining, for example worry, fear, anger or sadness. Many of these more unpleasant thoughts and emotions can feel as though they are constantly running around your head, leaving little space for other thoughts and more positive feelings, which can result in you feeling more emotionally drained and having low energy levels.
For most people experiencing cancer related fatigue, it will present in a combination of these areas, which will change over time. Therefore getting to know you fatigue will help you and your medical team develop tools and strategies to put in place to help manage your fatigue.
The author Ms Pippa Labuc has no relevant disclosures to report for this article.