Managing fatigue
[Three people with cancer appear on the screen in grey. They look tired. They fade out and the narrator, a woman with cancer, appears in colour.]
Narrator: Some people who have cancer feel tired all the time or they tire more easily when doing normal, daily activities. I know, because I’ve been there.
[The camera pans back to include more of the narrator. A bubble with “zzzz” appears above her head. Then the bubble disappears, the camera comes closer and squiggly lines appear above her head, representing her frustration. Her face looks tired as she fades out and the scene ends.]
Narrator: This is known as cancer fatigue, and it’s the most common side effect of cancer treatment. Everyone’s experience is different, but for me it was the most frustrating side effect of all.
[The narrator is asleep in bed. Outside the window above her bed, night passes and the sun rises high in the sky, suggesting she is in bed all night and all day.]
Narrator: Cancer fatigue is different from the tiredness that you may have felt before cancer. At times, I spent all day in bed and it didn’t make me feel rested.
[The narrator meets 3 friends for coffee. Her friends are in grey while she is in colour. Her friends look happy and energized as they talk to one another, but the narrator looks very tired. She rests her head on her hand and “zzz” appears in a bubble above her head. The coffee scene ends. A hospital appears and then fades out. Then a calendar page dated June 15 appears. The calendar pages flip slowly and then faster, representing the months passing from June through to March. The scene ends.]
Narrator: Cancer fatigue can come on suddenly, and it can come and go. It usually gets better after treatment is finished, but I felt some fatigue, on and off, for many months.
[The narrator appears again. Around her, 3 bubbles show aspects of life affected by fatigue. The first bubble has outlines of a brain and a body to represent mental and physical health. The second bubble has 2 adults facing each other to represent relationships. The third bubble has a laptop to represent work.]
Narrator: For some people with cancer, fatigue affects all areas of their life, including their mental and physical health, relationships and work.
[Four members of the healthcare team appear in grey. Then they fade out.]
Narrator: Fatigue isn’t something that you have to suffer through when you have cancer. If you have fatigue, tell someone on your healthcare team.
[The narrator is talking with her doctor. A question mark appears above the doctor’s head to suggest she is asking questions. Then the question mark disappears and she hands some printed information to the narrator. Both people fade out.]
Narrator: My doctor asked me questions about my fatigue and tried to find out what was causing it.
[Six bubbles fill the screen to show the many things that can cause cancer fatigue. The first bubble shows someone sitting in a chair receiving chemotherapy through an IV in their arm. The second bubble shows someone receiving radiation therapy. The third bubble shows pill bottles. The fourth bubble shows a person with squiggly lines above their head to represent emotions and stress. The fifth bubble shows a person with lightening bolts around their body to represent pain. The final bubble shows an empty plate with a knife and fork to represent poor nutrition.]
Narrator: She explained that many things can cause cancer fatigue, including the cancer itself, treatments or certain medicines, your emotions and stress, pain, poor nutrition, and other side effects.
[The narrator is talking to her doctor again. The doctor holds her arm out as she suggests ways the narrator might feel better. Then they fade out and are replaced by a scene in nature where the narrator is out for a walk on a sunny day.]
Narrator: Once my doctor knew more about my fatigue, she changed some things with my treatment and suggested other things I could do to feel better. I was surprised to learn that being more physically active actually gave me more energy.
[The scene changes and the narrator visits her friend and her friend’s baby. They sit and play on a rug together. The scene ends.]
Narrator: When I did have energy, I focused on doing only what was important to me.
[The narrator appears alone, meditating. Then she is sitting in a chair, talking to a counsellor who is taking notes.]
Narrator: Other things that helped me were learning to meditate and talking to a counsellor about how to cope with my stress and emotions.
[The 3 people with cancer from the video’s opening scene appear again in grey. They have lines radiating from them to represent their fatigue and frustration. The doctor appears next to them, and the lines disappear from above one person, suggesting the doctor is helping them manage their fatigue.]
Narrator: There’s no quick fix for cancer fatigue or the frustration that comes with it. If cancer fatigue is a problem for you, talking to your doctor is the first step in managing it.
[The Canadian Cancer Society’s name, logo, phone number and website address appear on the left. The Bank of Montreal (BMO) logo appears on the right as a proud sponsor of the Cancer Basics video series.]
Narrator: The Canadian Cancer Society can also help you. Visit cancer.ca or call 1-888-939-3333.
