Skip to main content

Prehab and your energy levels

It’s more than feeling tired!

Cancer-related fatigue is one of the most common side-effects of cancer; many people experience fatigue as a symptom of cancer before receiving their diagnosis. Fatigue is also the most common side-effect of cancer treatments such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and immunotherapy. People who undergo surgery often find that they feel more fatigued in the days and weeks following surgery.

Most people with cancer will experience cancer-related fatigue at some point during their cancer journey. The information on this page is intended to help you understand cancer-related fatigue; why you are feeling like this and how to build your energy levels ahead of treatment so that you are able to feel better before, during and after your treatment.

People with cancer describe fatigue as feeling tired, weak, worn-out, heavy, slow, or that they have no energy or get-up-and-go. Fatigue in people with cancer may be called cancer fatigue, cancer-related fatigue, and cancer treatment-related fatigue.

Key points

  • Fatigue is the most common side effect of cancer treatment
  • Cancer fatigue is different from fatigue or tiredness that healthy people feel
  • Fatigue can decrease your quality of life

Cancer related fatigue has lots of causes and contributing factors

These may include the following:

  • The cancer itself
  • Side-effects of medications/treatments
  • Worrying thoughts
  • Pain
  • Stress
  • Uncertainty
  • Surgery
  • Eating difficulties
  • Anaemia – low blood count
  • Reduced activity levels

Cancer-related fatigue is very different to the normal feeling of tiredness that we all experience from time to time after a busy day or lots of activity. Normal tiredness is relieved by sleep and rest. However, cancer-related fatigue is not proportional to activity levels nor to energy exerted, it is not relieved by rest and can persist for a long time. A helpful video explaining cancer related fatigue.

Think about yourself as a battery: before you were affected by cancer-related fatigue you would expend energy over the course of the day as you went about your activities. Now your battery is smaller so it takes less effort for it to drain. This means that you need to charge your battery more often.

A good way to do this is to alternate demanding activities with easier ones or periods of rest. Resting alone or doing very little activity for long periods of time doesn’t help, because just like a car battery your body needs to keep moving in order to stay charged. Imagine a car parked on the driveway for a long time – the battery doesn’t charge; overtime it goes flat. It is therefore important to remain physically active to help manage and reduce your fatigue.

How to manage your cancer related fatigue

Useful information and resources: