Coping With Fatigue From Chemotherapy

Fatigue—feeling tired and lacking energy—is the most common symptom reported by Cancer patients. The exact cause is not always known. It can be due to your disease, chemotherapy , radiation, surgery, low blood counts, lack of sleep, pain, stress, and poor appetite, along with many other factors.

Fatigue from chemotherapy feels different from fatigue of everyday life. Fatigue caused by chemotherapy can appear suddenly. Patients with Cancer have described it as a total lack of energy and have used words such as worn out, drained, and wiped out to describe their fatigue. Rest does not always relieve it. Not everyone feels the same kind of fatigue. You may not feel tired while someone else does, or your fatigue may not last as long as someone else's does. It can last days, weeks, or even months. But severe fatigue does go away gradually as the Cancer responds to treatment.

Tips for Coping

Here are some tips on coping with fatigue:

• Plan your day so that you have time to rest.
• Take short naps or breaks, rather than one long rest period.
• Save your energy for the most important things.
• Try easier or shorter versions of activities that you enjoy.
• Take short walks and do light exercise, if possible.
• Talk to your health care provider about ways to save your energy and treat your fatigue.
• Try activities such as meditation, prayer, yoga, guided imagery, and visualization.
• Eat as well as you can and drink plenty of fluids. Eat small amounts at a time, if that is helpful.
• Join a support group. Sharing your feelings with others can ease the burden of fatigue. You can learn how others deal with their fatigue. Your health care provider can put you in touch with a support group in your area.
• Limit the amount of caffeine and alcohol you drink.
• Allow others to do some things for you that you usually do.
• Keep a diary of how you feel each day. This will help you plan your daily activities.
• Report any changes in energy level to your health care provider.
  Stay up to date, subscribe to an appropriate magazine such as Women's Health Advisor Magazine  or to a combo publication such as Prevention/Woman's Day Combo Magazine

RESOURCES:

American Academy of Periodontology - http://www.perio.org
American Dental Association - http://www.ada.org
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research:
 National Institutes of Health - http://www.nidcr.nih.gov/

REFERENCES:

D'Aiuto F, Parkar M, Andreou G, Brett PM, Ready D, Tonetti MS. Periodontitis and atherogenesis: causal association or simple coincidence? J Clin Periodontol . 2004;31(5):402-411.

Hung HC, Joshipura KJ, Colditz G, Manson JE, Rimm EB, Speizer FE, Willett WC. The association between tooth loss and coronary heart disease in men and women. J Public Health Dent . 2004;64(4):209-215.

Does the mouth put the heart at risk? National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research website. Available at:
http://www.nidcr.nih.gov/.
or a combo publication such as  xxx
Large scale study looks at link between periodontal and heart disease. National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research website.
http://www.nidcr.nih.gov/.

Oral opportunistic infections: Links to systemic diseases. National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research website. Available at:
http://www.nidcr.nih.gov/spectrum/nidcr2/2grasec3.htm.

First evidence found of link between gum disease and high alcohol consumption, low dietary antioxidants. University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine website. Available at: http://www.buffalo.edu/scripts/newnews/index.cgi?article=firstevide.

UB researchers identify specific oral bacteria most likely to increase risk of heart attack. University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine website. Available at: http://www.buffalo.edu/scripts/newnews/index.cgi?article=ubresear13.