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Fatigue Is Strongest Cancer-Related Side Effect, Survey Shows

Feb 1, 1999
Volume: 
13
Issue: 
2
  • Survivorship, Palliative and Supportive Care

Findings released from a national survey
underscore what cancer patients already know: The fatigue following
chemotherapy treatment has a sweeping impact on patients’
physical and emotional health, as well as their economic well-being.

Three-quarters (76%) of the 379 cancer patients surveyed consistently
experienced fatigue, and nearly 9 (89%) out of 10 of those who
experienced fatigue said that cancer fatigue, commonly caused by
chemotherapy-induced anemia, interferes with their normal daily life.

Survey Highlights

The survey included patients who had been treated for cancers of the
breast, prostate, lung, or skin, as well as those with leukemia or
lymphoma. The following are highlights of the survey results from the
301 patients who experienced fatigue:

  • Among fatigued patients, 60% reported that fatigue affects their
    lives more than any other side effect of cancer, including nausea
    (22%), pain (6%), and depression (10%).

  • Fatigue was the longest-lasting side effect of cancer treatment.
    Close to half of patients (45%) experienced fatigue for at least 1
    week after chemotherapy and 33% had fatigue that lasted 2 weeks or
    more after chemotherapy.

  • Among fatigued patients, 89% said that fatigue changed the way that
    they go about their normal daily life, and a majority said the
    condition causes distress and interferes with daily activities.

  • Patients said that fatigue affects their ability to earn a living:
    Among employed patients, 71% missed one or more days of work per
    month and 31% missed nearly an entire week. Similarly, their
    caregivers took off about the same number of days to help care for
    them. Another 28% said fatigue forced them to stop working
    altogether. Three-fourths (75%) of patients had to change their work
    habits, such as cutting hours at work or taking on less responsibility.

  • The impact of fatigue on family/social life was equally dramatic, as
    59% of respondents said that they had difficulty socializing with
    family or friends; 52% said that they couldn’t meet the needs of
    their family or loved ones; 37% cited problems maintaining
    interpersonal relationships; 30% had difficulty being intimate with
    their partner; and 25% felt distant from family members and friends.

  • Fatigue also interferes with an individual’s ability to perform
    normal everyday tasks. A majority of respondents said that cancer
    fatigue interfered with daily activities, such as cleaning the house
    (69%), running errands (56%), climbing stairs (56%), and walking
    distances (69%).

  • Patients are largely misinformed about cancer fatigue, and physicians
    do not always provide them with the information they need. Among the
    fatigued patients, 61% assumed that the condition would disappear on
    its own; 45% believed that there was nothing their physician could do
    to treat cancer-related fatigue; and 25% said that their physicians
    did not explain the causes and treatments of the condition.

  • One-third (32%) of fatigued patients said that they had been
    diagnosed with anemia, a common cause of fatigue. Despite this, only
    9% of fatigued patients were treated with prescription drugs or
    transfusions to correct the condition.

Common Causes of Fatigue

“The survey results confirm that the debilitating fatigue during
cancer treatment is seriously underrecognized and undertreated,”
said Gregory A. Curt, MD, of the National Cancer Institute and a
member of the Fatigue Coalition. “The physical, emotional and
economic stress of fatigue on cancer patients has a serious impact on
their ability to get back to the business of living.”

The most common cause of cancer-related fatigue is anemia.

Treatment Options

“The real message of the survey findings is that many patients
with fatigue are suffering alone when treatment options are
available. Clearly, based on these results, fatigue may jeopardize
patients’ careers and their ability to take care of themselves
and their families. The treatment community and patients need to
recognize this fact and actively seek and request more treatment
options,” said Susan L. Scherr, a cancer survivor who is a
member of the Fatigue Coalition and serves as director of community
and strategic alliances for the National Coalition for Cancer
Survivorship (NCCS), a national advocacy group for cancer patients.

“Now, when our patients describe the way fatigue is impacting
their ability to go about their daily lives, we need to evaluate each
individual’s condition and treat fatigue aggressively when
needed,” added Dr. Curt.

Related Articles

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  • Unmet Needs During Extended Survivorship
  • Initiating Exercise Interventions to Promote Wellness in Cancer Patients and Survivors
  • Childhood Cancer Survivors Have Low Rates of HPV Vaccination
  • Opioid Use Increased Among Cancer Survivors

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