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Post-Treatment
Fatigue
And if
you're living proof that it does, at least you can know you're
not alone. Unfortunately, while it is clear fatigue can linger
for cancer survivors it remains difficult to treat because
it's specific cause is unknown. Post-treatment fatigue is a
different problem altogether from fatigue during treatment,
and theories explaining fatigue during treatments don't
necessarily apply to fatigue after treatments are over.
Fatigue can have so many different causes - nutritional
deficit, drug interactions, tumor activity, tumor death,
inability to exercise, depression, changed sleep patterns. The
multifaceted nature of fatigue is essentially what makes it so
difficult to treat.
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Under-Recognized
and Under-Treated
Patients
with post-treatment fatigue are often told to get more
rest. But too much rest has been reported to result in
increased fatigue (5). In other words, avoiding exercise
may be counterproductive; the inactivity can decrease
one's fitness, leading to greater fatigue during physical
activity. So what gives? Bernardine
Pinto, Ph.D., of the Centers for Behavioral and Preventive
Medicine at The Miriam Hospital and Brown Medical School,
says that cancer survivors suffering from post-treatment
fatigue often gain energy from exercise. She is conducting
the Moving Forward Program, a 4-year study measuring the
effects of exercise on various factors, including quality
of life, among women who have had breast cancer. Previous
research has indeed shown that exercise as an adjunctive
treatment may help to lessen fatigue and thereby
contribute to the rehabilitation of women with breast
cancer
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Can Be Prevented By Things We Can Do
Ourselves
According
to a landmark research report published in 1997 by the
American Institute for Cancer Research, 60-70% of all cancers
have been directly linked to our daily lifestyle habits, such
as what we eat, whether or not we exercise and maintain an
ideal weight, and whether or not we smoke. Making a few
adjustments to how you live each day may significantly reduce
your cancer risk. At the same time, you lower your risk for
other chronic diseases (e.g., heart disease, stroke,
hypertension, and diabetes). Plus, it just plain makes you
feel good.
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