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How do you deal with fatigue and radiation for skin cancer?

Posted by kruzer @kruzer, Feb 4 10:23am

I am undergoing 21 SRT treatments for skin cancer to the top of my skull. My current age is 77 and I’ve always been very active, wife and I even ride e-trikes although balance has never been a issue for me. I’m currently just finishing treatment 10 and at about 5 I noticed fatigue that I reported and it was quickly attributed to stree so I let it go. This past Monday my treatment was at 9AM and throughout the day I was fine working in my pole barn. I came in the house at about 2PM had a light lunch and waited for my wife to come home which is normally around 7PM. At or about 6PM it suddenly felt as though I had quickly spun around about 30 times. I couldn’t walk and was extremely nauseous. It continued until I went to bed. The next morning when I got up I was no better and my wife immediately took me to our doctors office. It took a wheelchair to get me from the car inside. When the doctor saw me and I told her what I was experiencing she said that she wanted to get the nausea under control first and gave me a very small pill that dissolved under my tongue. Within minutes the nausea ceased, and the doctor checked my ears to be sure that I had no ear infection which I did not. The doctor hinted that this was caused by a accumulation of several factors the SRT, nasal drainage, and weather changes. No one seems to associate the actual cause being SRT and at this point in time having 11 more treatments I’m very concerned what might happen next.

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Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Feb 18 2:57pm

Welcome, @kruzer. I moved your question about radiation for skin cancer and side effects like fatigue to the Melanoma & Skin Cancer support group https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/melanoma-skin-cancer/

I did this to connect you with other members who have had radiation like @pianist3 @psgstl @jseregny @grammato3 @katydid77 @cleveland26 so they can share their experiences with you.

Fatigue affects most people during cancer treatment. Cancer fatigue can result from the side effects of treatment or the cancer itself.

@kruzer. I'm glad you reported your side effects to your cancer team and that the nausea was managed quickly. Fatigue can be trickier to cope with. As someone who is used to being active, this can be hard to accept. But being an active, fit person will serve you well. You might have to be kinder with yourself and not expect to maintain the same level of activity while in treatment. Do what you can. Do you find pacing yourself helps?

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Susan, Volunteer Mentor | @grammato3 | Feb 18 4:44pm

@kruzer: I’m sorry to hear you suffered these side effects which are uncomfortable enough but even more frightening when you’re alone. I’m glad the situation was brought under control. As a retired nurse, also as a patient (although not one who has undergone significant radiation treatments for my skin cancers), I’m thinking the pill you got for the nausea was Zofran, or its generic equivalent. It usually works fairly quickly and, no, considering your radiation treatment and activity level it’s not terribly surprising you had these symptoms.

According to The National Cancer Institute (cancer.gov) “ Many people who get radiation therapy have fatigue. Fatigue is feeling exhausted and worn out. It can happen all at once or come on slowly. People feel fatigue in different ways and you may feel more or less fatigue than someone else who is getting the same amount of radiation therapy to the same part of the body”. Additionally, it’s important to not over exert yourself. While light exercise such as walking is beneficial, combining this with adequate rest periods and hydration is just as important.

Does that sound like a reasonable regimen to follow?

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cleveland26 | @cleveland26 | Feb 18 9:31pm
In reply to @colleenyoung "Welcome, @kruzer. I moved your question about radiation for skin cancer and side effects like fatigue..." + (show)
Profile picture for Colleen Young, Connect Director @colleenyoung

Welcome, @kruzer. I moved your question about radiation for skin cancer and side effects like fatigue to the Melanoma & Skin Cancer support group https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/melanoma-skin-cancer/

I did this to connect you with other members who have had radiation like @pianist3 @psgstl @jseregny @grammato3 @katydid77 @cleveland26 so they can share their experiences with you.

Fatigue affects most people during cancer treatment. Cancer fatigue can result from the side effects of treatment or the cancer itself.

@kruzer. I'm glad you reported your side effects to your cancer team and that the nausea was managed quickly. Fatigue can be trickier to cope with. As someone who is used to being active, this can be hard to accept. But being an active, fit person will serve you well. You might have to be kinder with yourself and not expect to maintain the same level of activity while in treatment. Do what you can. Do you find pacing yourself helps?

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@colleenyoung and @kruzer

Yes, I finished 20 IG SRT sessions 4 weeks ago. I had basal cell carcinoma on the tip of my nose. I did feel slightly fatigued beginning after the sixth or seventh session. But basically I took more and/or longer naps when I got home!

I was getting pretty tired of the sessions in the
last week because the interior of my nose became dry and the skin right under my nose felt like I had sunburn, although it looked unchanged.

Best to all.

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