[Steve]

The art of oncology - fatigue

by Steve on Sat Nov 08, 2014 3:07 pm

Hi all,

How's everyone doing? Well, I hope! And if you're not, I hope you start feeling a bit better soon!

I came across a collection of articles/essays written over an extended period of years by oncologists and other care givers ... published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

These essays reveal the more "human" side of cancer, both from the patient and physician experience.

For instance, the link below to an article on cancer induced fatigue (CIF) provides an excellent description of CIF from the perspective of an oncologist who became a breast cancer patient.

MJ Poulson, "Not Just Tired," Journal of Clinical Oncology, November 1, 2001

I know that many of you, like me, have been frustrated with trying to explain to our PCP's and other caregivers what the difference is between fatigue in a healthy person versus fatigue experienced by a cancer patient. Too often they just don't "get it"!

At any rate, it's a short article, 3-5 minutes of reading that I think most of you will find helpful.

This link, http://jco.ascopubs.org/cgi/collection/a007

goes to the complete listing of essays and articles published in JCO over the past many years. I've only just begun to read some of them but the few I've read are well done and extremely insightful to the thoughts and emotions of clinical oncologists as they too struggle through the day to day challenges of treating cancer patients.

Enjoy,

S.

[Meglet]

Re: The art of oncology - fatigue

by Meglet on Tue Jan 12, 2016 1:10 am

This article is very helpful. I have been in treatment for the last year and have been very frustrated during conversations with medical professionals, families, and friends about my fatigue. Thanks for the reference.