To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: Fatigue Most Prevalent, Longest-Lasting Cancer-Related Side Effect URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/B090E.htm Doctor's Guide September 22, 1998
WASHINGTON, DC -- Sept. 22, 1998 -- Findings released today from a new national survey underscore what cancer patients already know: the fatigue following chemotherapy treatment has a sweeping impact on patients' physical and emotional health and their economic well-being. Three-quarters of the 379 cancer patients surveyed (76 percent) consistently experienced fatigue. Nearly nine out of 10 (89 percent) of those who experienced fatigue said cancer fatigue, commonly caused by chemotherapy-induced anemia, interferes with their normal daily life. Only nine percent of fatigued patients were treated with prescription drugs or transfusions. The survey was released by the Fatigue Coalition, a multidisciplinary group of medical practitioners, researchers and patient advocates and was conducted by the research organisation Wirthlin Worldwide. "The survey results confirm that the debilitating fatigue during cancer treatment is seriously under-recognised and undertreated," said Gregory Curt, M.D., clinical director at the National Cancer Institute and a member of the Fatigue Coalition. "The physical, emotional and economic stress of fatigue on cancer patients has a serious impact on their ability to get back to the business of living." Among respondents who experienced some level of fatigue, 60 percent said that fatigue impacted their daily lives more than any other side effect of their cancer treatment -- considerably outweighing the effects of nausea (22 percent), depression (10 percent) and pain (six percent). Not only was fatigue the most prevalent cancer side effect, it also lasted the longest. Nearly half (45 percent) of patients suffering from fatigue said their bouts with the condition lasted at least one week after chemotherapy and one-third (33 percent) struggled with fatigue for two or more weeks. The survey also uncovered specific details about the economic, emotional and physical impact of fatigue among the 76 percent who experienced the condition: -- Economic: 71 percent of employed patients missed one or more days a month and 31 percent missed nearly an entire week. Similarly, their caregivers took off about the same number of days to help care for them. Another 28 percent say fatigue forced them to stop working altogether. -- Emotional/social: 59 percent of respondents said they had difficulty socialising with family or friends, 37 percent said they had problems maintaining interpersonal relationships and 30 percent had difficulty being intimate with their partner. -- Physical: A majority said cancer fatigue interfered with daily activities such as cleaning the house (69 percent), running errands (56 percent), climbing stairs (56 percent) and walking distances (69 percent). The most common cause of cancer-related fatigue is anemia, a condition in which decreased numbers of red blood cells prevent sufficient oxygen from reaching body tissues. One-third of fatigued patients surveyed (32 percent) reported that they had been diagnosed with anemia, yet only nine percent of these patients were treated with prescription drugs or transfusions to address the fatigue. "Now, when our patients describe the way fatigue is impacting their ability to go about their daily lives, we need to evaluate each individual's condition and treat fatigue aggressively when needed," Dr. Curt said. The survey included patients who had been treated for cancers of the breast, prostate, lung and skin, as well as leukemia and lymphoma. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet* located at http://www.docguide.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to News Story Page This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs. All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved.