People who experience cancer fatigue often describe it as "paralyzing." Usually, it comes on suddenly and is not the result of activity or exertion. With this type of fatigue, no amount of rest or sleep helps. You feel physically, emotionally and mentally exhausted most of the time.
Cancer related fatigue is different from tiredness which is usually short term and you feel better after you stop, sleep or rest. Cancer fatigue doesn't usually go away with sleep or rest. It can be severe and last a long time. Fatigue can last for different amounts of time depending on what's causing it.
Many people with cancer feel sad. They feel a sense of loss of their health, and the life they had before they learned they had the disease. Even when you're done with treatment, you may still feel sad. This is a common response to any serious illness.
Fatigue may develop as a symptom of blood cancers, such as leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma, because these cancers start in the bone marrow, which produces red blood cells that carry oxygen throughout the body.
Extreme fatigue that doesn't get better with rest can be an early sign of cancer. Cancer uses your body's nutrients to grow and advance, so those nutrients are no longer replenishing your body. This “nutrient theft” can make you feel extremely tired.
Some people in the advanced stages of cancer may feel or be sick a lot. This type of sickness is very different to that of people having chemotherapy or radiotherapy. It can severely affect your day to day life and make you very tired and depressed.
Blood tests: These can help to diagnose some cancers. For example, they can detect substances called tumour markers which may be caused by cancer. Biopsies: A biopsy is a sample of tissue taken from your skin or inside your body. The sample is then examined under a microscope to see if there are any cancer cells.
Aside from leukemia, most cancers cannot be detected in routine blood work, such as a CBC test. However, specific blood tests are designed to identify tumor markers, which are chemicals and proteins that may be found in the blood in higher quantities than normal when cancer is present.
Sometimes symptoms affect specific areas of the body, such as our tummy or skin. But signs can also be more general, and include weight loss, tiredness (fatigue) or unexplained pain. Some possible signs of cancer, like a lump, are better known than others.
Weight gain is also common and may be unexpected. However, it can happen before, during and after cancer treatment. Some tumours can cause an increase in weight, perhaps because of their size, and fluid retention or constipation. For other people, it is the treatment which can trigger weight gain.
Tests on the tissue sample
Your team might do further tests on the sample of tissue (biopsy) used to diagnose your cancer. They might use immunohistochemistry (IHC) tests, which look for particular proteins on the surface of the cancer cells. These tests can sometimes tell which type of cell the cancer started in.
If the fatigue is associated with chest pain, shortness of breath, irregular heart rate, or sense of imminent passing out, these are urgent conditions that warrant immediate medical attention.
Fatigue feels like you have an overwhelming urge to sleep, but you may not feel refreshed after you rest or sleep. Fatigue often occurs along with other symptoms, such as: Depression and lack of desire to do the activities you once enjoyed. Trouble concentrating or focusing.
If you're deemed to be of sound mind, and you ask the question, then yes, they are legally obligated to disclose your medical data to you. That includes what they may or may not be testing you for.
Individuals cannot self-diagnose cancer at home, but they can perform regular self-exams to help detect problems as early as possible. Breast, testicular, and skin self-exams are easy to complete, and they enable people to recognize abnormalities.
It's because of this location, surrounded and obscured by internal organs, that pancreatic tumors are impossible to see or feel during a routine medical exam. Making diagnosis even more difficult is the fact that in its early stages, pancreatic cancer is usually a so-called “silent” disease and causes no symptoms.
Screening: CT is sometimes used to screen for different types of cancer, such as lung and colorectal cancer. Diagnosis: Your doctor may order a CT scan to locate and size suspected tumors. It also may help determine whether a tumor has recurred.
Full blood count (FBC)
This can help give an indication of your general health, as well as provide important clues about certain health problems you may have. For example, an FBC may detect signs of: iron deficiency anaemia or vitamin B12 deficiency anaemia. infection or inflammation.
Nausea and vomiting are common and sometimes serious side effects of cancer treatment. Chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and other cancer treatments can cause nausea and vomiting. Nausea is feeling queasy, sick to your stomach, or like you might throw up.
Feeling dizzy or lightheaded can be a side effect of cancer and its treatment. You may feel like you are about to lose your balance, faint or pass out, or feel like the room is spinning. Dizziness may get worse when you stand up, walk, climb stairs, or move your head.
Radicular pain is nerve pain, which occurs when the cancer is pushing on a nerve in the spine. It can feel like an electric shock going down a limb or around the chest. Sciatica is the most well-known type. Radicular pain can be relieved by treating the tumor to stop it from compressing the nerve causing the pain.