How To Talk To Your Nurse
Speak Up: Get Help to Manage Cancer Fatigue
Recent studies show that cancer treatment-related fatigue is the most
common and debilitating side effect experienced by cancer patients.
Despite its prevalence , many cancer patients are hesitant to ask for
help and assume fatigue is an inevitable consequence of cancer
treatment. In fact, three out of four cancer patients report they didn't
even realize that treatment for their fatigue exists.
Fatigue is NOT an inevitable consequence of cancer and its treatment -
there are ways to relieve your fatigue such as medications and lifestyle
changes. To learn about available management strategies and treatment
options for cancer fatigue, it is essential that cancer patients talk to
their nurse or doctor about the condition, its severity and its impact
on their daily lives. If you or a loved one is living with cancer
fatigue, it is important to remember the following:
- If you are concerned about discussing fatigue with your doctor,
try talking to your oncology nurse, who specializes in helping you
manage symptoms of the disease and its treatment.
- If you are too tired to discuss your fatigue with a nurse or
doctor, take a friend or a family member with you. They can serve as
a good communication link between you and your care provider and
provide details about the effects fatigue has on you.
- Keep a diary about your fatigue, including its severity and
impact on your daily activities, which you can use as a tool to help
you discuss the condition with your nurse or doctor.
- Empower yourself through education by using resources which
provide important information about fatigue, management strategies
and available treatment options, such as the Oncology Nursing
Society's (ONS) www.cancerfatigue.net
- Use the ONS Fatigue Scale to help you assess the fatigue that
you are experiencing and to help you initiate discussions with your
nurse or doctor.
- Join support groups to share your own experiences and to learn
how other cancer patients cope with cancer and its symptoms and how
they discuss fatigue with their health care providers.
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Lack of understanding within a family about cancer fatigue can lead to
communication problems, resentment, and feelings of guilt. |
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