Almost everyone with advanced cancer has this symptom.
JAKARTA – The severity of cancer symptoms increases as the disease progresses. Unfortunately, many patients ignore the signs until they become unbearable. Inaction to report symptoms early significantly worsens the prognosis of cancer.
Medical reports state that most of the patients diagnosed at an advanced stage report symptoms of extreme fatigue. The American Cancer Society explains that fatigue is a condition in which a person feels tired, lethargic, and has no energy to the point of not being able to carry out their usual activities. This fatigue can affect physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Cancer patients suffering from this symptom often describe an ongoing feeling of extreme tiredness that improves with rest. “Nearly everyone with advanced cancer has these symptoms,” the health agency said ExpressFriday (13/1/2023).
When a person is diagnosed with cancer at an advanced stage, it is likely that it cannot be cured or efficiently controlled with medication. The reason is, the tumor will attack nearby tissue, lymph nodes, and other distant parts of the body.
Medication may still be given in an attempt to shrink the tumor, but doctors sometimes judge that the risks of treatment outweigh the benefits. It should be noted that people with advanced cancer are more likely to experience fatigue than patients in the early stages of the disease.
The main cause of fatigue in cancer patients is disruption of the body’s hormone levels, which is often seen in diseases such as breast and prostate cancer. Once there are more cancer cells in the body, fatigue can lead to decreased eating and activity.
Cancer Research UK says some cancers make substances called cytokines. Cytokines are a group of proteins in the body that play an important role in boosting the immune system. This can cause fatigue.
A report published in the medical journal BMC Primary Care characterizes this type of fatigue in terminal cancer patients as “unbearable fatigue”. The report stated that fatigue was the most frequently unbearable symptom, seen in 57 percent of patients receiving palliative care.
Cleveland Clinic describe cancer fatigue as paralyzing because it can happen suddenly. “This type of fatigue cannot be reversed by sleep, and even if you get enough sleep it won’t help. You often feel exhausted physically, emotionally and mentally,” said Cleveland Clinic.
The American Cancer Society states, patients often describe fatigue as a feeling of lethargy, weakness, or weakness, which may decrease at times but may reappear later. Despite fatigue, patients often report unbearable pain, according to reports at BMC Primary Care. Pain in terminally ill patients is often characterized as chronic because it tends to last longer than pain caused by other problems.
In cancer patients, pain often causes several other complications such as feeling irritable, decreased appetite, decreased concentration, and poor sleep cycles.
Source: Republic
