BACKGROUND. Advice to rest and take things easy if patients become fatigued during radiotherapy may be detrimental. Aerobic walking improves physical functioning and has been an intervention for chemotherapy-related fatigue. A prospective, randomized, controlled trial was performed to determine whether aerobic exercise would reduce the incidence of fatigue and prevent deterioration in physical functioning during radiotherapy for localized prostate carcinoma. METHODS. Sixty-six men were randomized before they received radical radiotherapy for localized prostate carcinoma, with 33 men randomized to an exercise group and 33 men randomized to a control group. Outcome measures were fatigue and distance walked in a modified shuttle test before and after radiotherapy. RESULTS. There were no significant between group differences noted with regard to fatigue scores at baseline (P ϭ 0.55) or after 4 weeks of radiotherapy (P ϭ 0.18). Men in the control group had significant increases in fatigue scores from baseline to the end of radiotherapy (P ϭ 0.013), with no significant increases observed in the exercise group (P ϭ 0.203). A nonsignificant reduction (2.4%) in shuttle test distance at the end of radiotherapy was observed in the control group; however, in the exercise group, there was a significant increase (13.2%) in distance walked (P ϭ 0.0003). CONCLUSIONS. Men who followed advice to rest and take things easy if they became fatigued demonstrated a slight deterioration in physical functioning and a significant increase in fatigue at the end of radiotherapy. Home-based, moderateintensity walking produced a significant improvement in physical functioning with no significant increase in fatigue. Improved physical functioning may be necessary to combat radiation fatigue. Cancer 2004;101:550-7.
This study describes the experience of fatigue in patients with advanced cancer. A phenomenological approach was adopted to allow a fuller expression of the phenomenon of fatigue in the sample of six patients. Five major themes were identified. These were physical, psychological, social and spiritual consequences of fatigue, and helpful and unhelpful coping strategies. The themes demonstrate the complexity of fatigue, which had an all-encompassing effect on patients' lives. The themes were interconnected and cannot be viewed independently. For these patients with advanced cancer the meaning of fatigue was intertwined with the process of adjusting to living with a terminal illness and ultimately death. It was impossible for them to separate the two. Coping strategies that would normally be of use to fatigued individuals were shown to have little or no benefit. Sensitive communication about fatigue and its meaning to the patient may assist adjustment and generate hope.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.