Fatigue: How bad is it really? What helps?

@cloudybright Such a tough question to answer. In a way I had got “used” to being extremely fatigued when I didn’t know I had cancer. Fatigue was one of the severe symptoms I missed. I put it down to crashing and burning with so much going on in my life for too long.

I pushed through at work when unknown to me the cancer was growing and my body was fighting. I had to with deadlines, and clients and my team depending on me.

I would get into bed as soon as I got home and also spend most of the weekend in bed. In a way when I was diagnosed stage 4 appendix cancer it was a relief to know what was wrong and make a plan to focus on.

Looking back that experience also taught me to push through when I was going through cancer treatments. I kept working to help me push through. I could work from home and my team and clients knew I would take a nap during the day if I needed to.

I worked harder when I felt good whether it was late at night or in the early hours. People got used to my schedule, as did I!!

I had HIPEC + cytoreductive surgery + peritonectomy after 6 months of Folfiri + Avastin. I lost a huge amount of weight being tube fed in ICU and had to put weight back on so I didn’t slide into anorexia.

I had to push myself to eat a lot of small highly nutritious meals over the day (hard boiled eggs, scrambled eggs with mushrooms, almonds, salmon with quinoa and spinach, apple and cheese, chicken thighs, broccoli, hummus and crackers, yoghurt and blueberries etc).

I also slowly built up my walking from around the house to pottering around gardening to up and down the street, to around the block to further afield. I also did Pilates and Yoga and lifted light weights building repetitions.

All I can say to you is push forward in small steps. I visualised each step in eating and walking as a building block to build a good base of good health.

I finished cancer treatment in mid 2022 and have been NED since. It probably took a year to get back to my new normal. I can’t run long distances up and down hills as I used to do but I can now walk them!!

Be kind to your body. Your body is fighting and needs all the help and support you can give it ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹

Sending you a hug, @cloudybright. Given what you've gone through and the chemo, I'm not surprised you feel fatigued. Listen to your body and rest as much as you can.
When I lost interest in walking my dog and exercising, slept to avoid thinking about what I was going through, and in a way felt guilty about it, I decided to go to psychotherapy. It really helped to make me recognize that I had the right, so to speak, to feel the way I did and the therapist helped me identify what activities would help me start feeling better, little by little, embracing the fatiguing and finding non-forceful ways to work through it.

Thank you. That is so helpful and inspirational. I'll try harder based on your response. Again, Thank you.

I would like to know who diagnosed your cancer. Was it your family doctor??
Was it an MRI that found it??
I feel fatigued & have a stomach ache almost every day.
My husband died recently so I know stress & grief are part of it
but I am also worried about cancer. I hate to be a hypochondriac but
better to know so as to make decisions.
K

Just to check--do you have some symptoms that you are concerned might be from cancer? Some history of cancer? Is this the fatigue and stomach ache you mention? By all means check in with you primary care physician. These symptoms could be caused by many different things--and can be treatable whatever they are. In my experience as a cancer patient--diagnosis tends to be from scans and biopsies. Really it is several doctors who diagnose and then you tend to get referred to an oncology team. But it might be too early to worry about cancer treatment. When my first husband died--I was 41--I went straight to my PCP because I was having a bunch of physical symptoms. She was very helpful. I think your own doctor can be a great resource. When you find out more--can you check in? Will be thinking of you.

Fatigue is not fun, but you have to keep pushing through. For me, going a lot slower then I use to but still going forward. I've had fatigue since the beginning of treatment 20 months ago. It's no help to try napping, even a slow walk around the living room , maybe even adding in some dance steps along the way. Point being, you can do this, you just have to push. Myself, I get down sometimes, but try to keep my head in a good place. One year ago, I finished my 10th round of chemo, no picnic for sure. I wish you the best on your journey.

This is correct.

Generally, when a PCP is suspicious of something based on a physical exam, blood work or patient narrative, they either order tests to see what's going and/or they or refer you to a specialist who takes it from there to do the diagnosis

The big thing is to seek medical advice quickly when something is not right.

Also adding that some cancers are detectable by screening tests, one example is Cologuard which indicates the possibility of colon cancer which calls for future examination via colonoscopy.

All the best

Please share what therapist described as non-forceful ways to work through fatigue. I have peritoneal mesothelioma. Thank you

I live in Mexico. My therapist is in Mexico. I don't know how fluent she is in English.