How fatigue can affect daily living
Working
Keeping up with work may get more challenging while dealing wtih prostate cancer. Fatigue can affect your ability to concentrate on deadlines, make you need to take breaks, and more.
Travelling to appointments
Travelling to the hospital for treatment or to your check-ups can make fatigue worse. Getting ready, gathering what you need, and then travelling to your destination can unexpectedly tire you out.
Sleeping
What’s keeping you up at night? Is it the TV? Needing to urinate frequently? Worrying about what’s next in your prostate cancer journey? If you’re having trouble getting to sleep, this can make your fatigue worse. Turning off electronics and drinking less liquids before bed can help. If you still have trouble sleeping because of stress, fear or anxiety, it’s time to talk to your doctor or care team.
Focusing
Concentrating, remembering things, understanding new information, and making decisions can be tougher.
Driving
Sudden feelings of tiredness can happen at any moment—so you must be careful if driving or operating a machine while undergoing treatment for prostate cancer.
Socialising
Hanging out with friends and family may take more effort then it did before.
Pain or pain-relieving drugs
If you’re already in pain from either the prostate cancer itself or treatment for it, adding fatigue to the mix doesn’t help. Both the pain and pain medications can affect your energy levels, so talk to your doctor. There may be other options to manage your pain.
How can you fend off fatigue
during treatment?
Fatigue during prostate cancer can be caused by a number of things, but there’s plenty you can do to help ease that draining feeling. Review these tips below often and remember to talk to your doctor or care team if you have questions.
Talk to your doctor
or care team
Tell your doctor or nurse how you’re feeling. They can help you understand what could be making your fatigue worse and help you manage it. If you feel very stressed, anxious or depressed, please speak up because they need to know.
Ask family and friends for support
Asking for help is a sign of strength and courage, especially if you’re used to doing things for yourself. Make a list of activities you currently do for yourself daily. Then, take another look at your list and imagine which tasks a partner, friend or family member could take on. There are probably a few things other people can help with — so don’t be afraid to ask.
Plan your days in advance
Keep a diary to jot down what your days or weeks look like. You may feel like you don’t have enough energy for it all, but planning ahead will help you take care of the most important items.
Eat and drink well
A
is necessary to keep your energy up. Ask your doctor to refer you to a dietitian, who can suggest which foods are best for you. You may even want to check out healthy delivery options from the grocery store.Rest and relax
To wind down, try:
• Meditating
• Doing yoga
• Taking several deep breaths
• Playing relaxing music
• Listening to an audiobook
Doing these will help you focus and give your body and mind time to rest.
Doing these will help you focus, and give your body and mind time to rest.
Exercise
Exercise and physical activity have been shown to help beat fatigue. Even if you’ve only done light activity before, it’s highly recommended that you start including exercise in your daily routine, under your doctor’s guidance.
With some exercise, your energy levels could actually increase. With more energy, you might be able to get back to doing the things you enjoy, sooner.
Make sure you work with your doctor or care team to find a plan that works for you.
Knowing your rights at work
It’s important to know your legal rights as an employee. Know your company’s policies and review the employee handbook. There are laws designed to protect you from discrimination.
Talk to your employer. If your boss knows what you’re going through, you might be able to adjust your work schedule to help you get the job done. You might need work-from-home days or extra breaks, for example.
