Uncertainty and sense‐of‐self as targets for intervention for cancer‐related fatigue

Abstract

Cancer‐related fatigue (CRF) can be a devastating consequence of cancer and cancer treatments, negatively impacting 50%–90% of cancer patients regardless of age, sex or diagnosis. Limited evidence and research exist to inform effective patient‐centred interventions. To target symptom management, there must first be a broader understanding of the symptoms and the lived experience of the persons experiencing CRF and those caring for them, from a supportive as well as a healthcare perspective. This study set out to consider whether components of the language used or descriptors reported by patients, family members, and/or healthcare professionals may provide new insights for potential targets for intervention development. Descriptors from 84 responses (n = 84) from cancer survivors, family members and healthcare professionals were analysed for content. The descriptors reiterate the physical, emotional and functional consequences of CRF, but also reflect two new potential targets for intervention to mitigate the impacts of CRF: uncertainty and sense‐of‐self.

Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D and cancer-related fatigue: associations and effects on depression, anxiety, functional capacity and health-related quality of Life in breast cancer survivors during adjuvant endocrine therapy

“…The CRF affects 50% to 90% of cancer patients regardless of age, sex or diagnosis [ 85 ], persisting after the end of treatment [ 86 , 87 ] and presenting emotional, physical, cognitive, functional consequences, in addition to causing uncertainty and impact the sense-of-self [ 88 ]. In the present study, CRF was associated with practically all health outcomes investigated, being relevant result for clinical practice and reinforces the need for more studies aimed at the development of effective interventions to control this adverse effect whit high potential for better the HRQL and associated aspects.…”

Time to Resolution of Axitinib-Related Adverse Events After Treatment Interruption in Patients With Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma

“…[22][23][24] The resolution of fatigue may, therefore, not be solely dependent on stopping treatment, but may also involve other factors such as patient lifestyle or mental health status. [25][26][27] The fast resolution of the AEs (1-3 days except for fatigue) for axitinib monotherapy is most likely due to its short half-life. After a single 5-mg dose, the half-life of axitinib is 2.5 to 6.1 hours.…”

Navigating severe chronic cancer-related fatigue: an interpretative phenomenological analysis

“…Besides the physical, emotional and functional consequences of CCRF, people also described how this fatigue impacted the sense of self and created feelings of uncertainty related to the onset, duration, impact and management of the fatigue. Based on these findings, the authors concluded that interventions addressing uncertainty and altered sense of self may be helpful to them (Dolgoy et al, 2019).…”

“…This method could help unravel if the interrelated problems a patient suffers from belong to one phenomenon or differentiate into distinctly different phenomena with different etiologies, and investigate the preferred word choice to determine possible targets for treatment (Laidsaar-Powell et al, 2019). For example, Dolgoy et al (2019) identified new intervention targets by studying how people affected by cancer spontaneously described the nature and impact of fatigue. Besides the physical, emotional and functional consequences of CCRF, people also described how this fatigue impacted the sense of self and created feelings of uncertainty related to the onset, duration, impact and management of the fatigue.…”