People are affected by breast cancer in many ways. A person diagnosed can be fatigued from treatments. Some effects may seem short-term after finishing chemotherapy, radiation, or having surgery. Those in the metastatic breast cancer community have life-long effects they face for the remainder of their lives. I am speaking of the long-term effects of fatigue and being affected by breast cancer in both of these groups.
The Fatigue that Effects Daily Living
Fatigue from breast cancer can come in many forms. You may feel physically fatigued from having surgery or undergoing treatment. It disrupts your body’s system causing it to work overtime during the healing process. As you sit in your chair feeling this way, you may become sad, feeling helpless, as you watch others trying to take care of you when perhaps a week or month before surgery or treatment you were the one taking care of others. This is an odd feeling for many.
Things are not done the way you did them, but you cannot do much about it if you are following doctor’s advice to rest and limit physical activity. It takes patience and a non-judgmental attitude to sit quietly and let your caregivers do what they are there to do. Be patient with yourself and your caregivers. No one, including caregivers asked to be in the breast cancer club.
Disrupted sleep for those affected by breast cancer is something I hear often. This can affect personal relationships in terms of sexual health and well-being. I also hear this from the male breast cancer community who take Tamoxifen after mastectomy. Lack of sleep due to the side effects of any treatment can affect productivity during the day. It becomes an endless cycle of finding ways to optimize sleep. Breast cancer patients want to feel as productive as everyone else.
Emotional Fatigue and Breast Cancer
This can come and go in waves for years. Long term effects of treatment and diagnosis after a person is released from medical care is not often discussed. Breast cancer patients may only be returning to see a specialist like an oncologist or primary care doctor to monitor your overall health once or twice a year. An annual test can reveal an unwanted side affect from treatment, like osteoporosis from taking a medication like anastrozole. Other side effects experienced by breast cancer patients I speak to include dry skin, hot flashes, night sweats, bone and joint pain, or hair loss.
I hear people say this causes emotional fatigue just “trying to find a balance” or “pushing through” these kinds of symptoms. They fear stopping medication because they do not want breast cancer to return. Support groups can help with the emotional fatigue if they are just that, supportive. As one woman stated in the support group I have on Facebook, “I’m glad we can all share. Unless you go through it, is doesn’t seem “big” to those who don’t know.” Dealing with various side effects daily becomes emotionally challenging for those affected by breast cancer.
Battling the System to Alleviate Fatigue
This is a tough one to even discuss. It comes in various forms for various people. I think healthcare professionals in the breast cancer community deal with this in ways only they can appreciate. Multiple calls into centers to refer patients to specialists or wait times into pharmacies eats up precious time. Time constraints in office consultations does not often allow them the time to fully listen to patients. The affects of breast cancer and insurance coverage limitations can put a crunch on what type of care can be given to patients.
I speak to patients frequently who spend an inordinate amount of time researching resources in their area that may help with the symptoms that cause fatigue either emotionally or physically if they have been affected by breast cancer. Finding an acupuncturist, registered dietician, physical therapist can be challenging for some in more remote areas. Access to care during survivorship is so important for daily living. They too, are spending inordinate amounts of time dealing with insurance.
The Answer to Being Fatigued by Breast Cancer
I wish I had an easy answer. It happened to me this week. I was gutted to find out I have osteoporosis in my lumbar spine. It has fatigued me emotionally this week trying to wrap my mind around this when I go to the gym 4-5 times a week, lifting weights and doing cardio. But at my oncology appointment she shored me up by telling me I was doing all the right things. She explained that some of this was out of my control with a family history of osteoporosis and being on anastrozole for seven years. I was encouraged to stay the course with my physical activity. However, now I will need to see an osteoporosis specialist. So, I wait for that call knowing I may have to reach out myself to schedule it.
This is small potatoes compared to what others are dealing with. I spoke to some this week who were dismissed by their doctors or through administrative errors, given the wrong piece of information for some testing. We mentioned to each other that we so often must be strong advocates for ourselves when facing the unknown fatigue caused by breast cancer that can simply be triggered by events, we had no control over.
Community Support When Breast Cancer Fatigue Occurs
It made us both sad to think of those who do not have the voice to speak up and advocate for themselves. I fear these are the ones who fall through the cracks or may not be getting the best overall treatment.
One thing I am sure of, most of us seem to understand each other. Through our good days and bad, it is community that gets us through theses days of fatigue and frustration when affected by breast cancer. It certainly helped me this week to speak with others in my community. I always try to keep my head up, but this week took me under. How do you best handle fatigue from being affected by breast cancer? I welcome your thoughts and comments.