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Almost all cancer patients with advanced cancer report the same "unbearable", as they say, symptom - a feeling of constant and severe fatigue.
Oncologists explain this as the inability to do something at their usual pace. As a rule, this is due to the fact that the tumor has penetrated into the adjacent tissues, lymph nodes and other parts of the body.
Patients with an advanced stage of cancer are more likely to experience fatigue than those in the early stages of the disease. As soon as the number of cancer cells increases in the body, fatigue can lead to a decrease in appetite and a decrease in activity.
The main cause of fatigue in cancer patients is a violation of hormone levels, which is especially often observed in breast and prostate cancer.
Some types of cancer produce cytokines, a group of proteins that play an important role in strengthening the immune system. This can also cause fatigue.
In a report published in the medical journal BMC Primary Care, the type of fatigue experienced by patients with terminal cancer is described as "excruciating, debilitating weakness". It is observed in 57 percent of patients who receive palliative care, that is, when it is not about treatment, but about maintaining the quality of life (which can be preserved in each specific case).
The Cleveland Clinic describes cancer fatigue as "paralyzing" because it can come on suddenly. And neither long sleep nor rest help here.
According to such patients, most of the time they feel physically, emotionally and mentally exhausted.
The first symptoms of cancer, with the appearance of which you must consult a doctor:
- Sudden unmotivated weight loss.
- High temperature and fever.
- Fatigue and weakness.
- Bone pain.
- Change in the quality and color of the skin.
- Change in size, color, thickness, shape of birthmarks.
- The occurrence of wounds or ulcers that are not amenable to therapy.
- Bladder disorders.
- Various defecation disorders (constipation, diarrhea, pain during defecation).
- Constant headache.
- Unusual discharge, bleeding.
- Continuous cough, sore throat, hoarseness, as well as swallowing problems and indigestion.
