AFTER CANCER: WHAT TO TELL MY DOCTORS ABOUT MY FATIGUE?
It is important that you keep your doctors informed about your energy level. Describe in concrete terms how tired you are: “When I sit down to dinner, I’m too exhausted to lift the fork to my mouth,” “After I get my kids ready for school, I have to lie down,” or “I’m fine when I get to work, but by eleven I can’t concentrate and need to close my eyes.”
Describe the pattern of your fatigue: how often it occurs, when it occurs, how severe it is, what triggers or aggravates it, what prevents or alleviates it, and what the overall trend is (e.g., getting worse or better the past few weeks, the same as it has been since treatment ended). Is it worse in the morning or the afternoon? When you are hungry or full? When you do or do not get exercise? On workdays or schooldays or weekends?
Explain to your doctor how your energy limitations are affecting you on a practical level. A single mother of two young children may be unable to take care of them because of her fatigue, or she may be unable to get the rest she needs to offset the fatigue. In contrast, a widowed grandmother may be able to satisfy her physical and emotional needs by adjusting her daily schedule to accommodate her slowed pace and increased need for sleep.
Your doctor also needs to know how you are being affected emotionally. Do you fear that the fatigue indicates persistent or recurrent cancer? Is your inability to do what you want or need to do making you feel depressed? Is it causing problems at work or home?
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