Fatigue

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swg
swg Member Posts: 461
edited September 2018 in Managing Side Effects of Breast Cancer and Its Treatment

Ok so, my treatment didn't go beyond a unilateral mastectomy w reconstruction. I was Stage 1 w no lymph node spread, and I made the decision to change my eating and exercise habits, rather than take Tamoxifen, which I felt was too risky for not much benefit.

Despite working out regularly and eating relatively healthy (or, at least, healthier than I was pre-cancer), I am plagued by FATIGUE.

Some days are worse than others. Today we are dealing with a heat wave. It's 90 out but feels like 99 and that seems to be exacerbating my exhaustion.

Fatigue is awful because it can't be helped by getting enough sleep or napping.

I tried a search for "fatigue" on the forum and only found references to it when discussing chemo or drug therapy.

Is fatigue a common post-treatment symptom?

I felt it even since before my diagnosis. :(

I'm doing the best I can to combat it, but it just wins sometimes, and I'm less productive. Don't feel like doing anything. :(

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  • moth
    moth Member Posts: 4,800
    edited August 2018

    Have you had any bloodwork recently? Thyroid, iron, b12 ... low levels of these can cause this symptom.


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  • DATNY
    DATNY Member Posts: 358
    edited August 2018

    Cancer too causes it. It was one of my main symptoms before diagnosis. I guess is not the cancer, but the immune system fighting it. Fatigue much like the one during a nasty cold or flu.

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  • swg
    swg Member Posts: 461
    edited August 2018

    No I haven't. Not since my implant exchange surgery back in April, and everything was normal.

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  • DATNY
    DATNY Member Posts: 358
    edited August 2018

    Most of us are monitored with blood work every 3 months.

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  • swg
    swg Member Posts: 461
    edited September 2018

    Really? Funny, nobody told me anything about health maintenance now that I'm considered a survivor.

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  • DATNY
    DATNY Member Posts: 358
    edited September 2018

    I just had a talk with my MO. I asked him for how long he monitors a patient. He said for as long as the patient wants to stay with him, but at least 10 years. He starts with visits every 3 months and then, in time, he decreases the frequency. Blood work is done at every visit. I know of other MOs who also do scans as part of the maintenance. Mine doesn't, he says there is too much radiation for the patient. But I complained to him about some pain here and there and he offered me an MRI. I didn't want to do it now (just finished my basic treatment last week), and we agreed to discuss it again at the next visit if the pain persists. He was very frank with me and said that with cancer there is no warranty.

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  • moth
    moth Member Posts: 4,800
    edited September 2018

    swg - The American Cancer Society and the American Society of Clinical Oncology put out survivorship care guidelines which have specific recommendations https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.3322/c...


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