Post cancer fatigue

[blamethecat]

Can anyone give me a bit of advice, just over a year ago dp was diagnosed with a germ cell tumour that had spread, he had pretty intense chemo over the following four month and the radiotherapy that ended mid June. Since mid way through the chemo his blood results have all been 'normal' the radiotherapy was described as belt and braces. He had steroids while having radiotherapy and when he initially came off them really struggled so at his next appointment he was given another short course and tailed them of ending about 6 weeks ago. He is still really struggling with fatigue, his last blood test was about 3 weeks ago and that was also normal, his seeing the consultant again on Tuesday. From what I have read it is within the normal range to take 6-12 months to recover from the treatment but wondered if anyone had any ideas on how to help, he is working full time in an office job, I am doing pretty much everything at home so he can rest/relax at home (he has cooked on the odd occasion he has felt up to it). I know you can not advise on specifics but any ideas on what has helped those who have experienced would be appreciated.

[WhatWouldLeslieKnopeDo]

Hi,

Sorry your husband is struggling. It sounds like you're doing a great job of supporting him. It's good that he's back at work, but I guess that must be using up all of his energy at the moment.

There's a bit of information on the Macmillan website about managing fatigue. Sorry if you've already read it.

I found it helped to challenge myself a little each day, but it's so important not to overdo it and to listen to your body. It's a frustratingly slow process!

Does your DH do much exercise? I've found walking really helps me. I hit a pedometer after treatment finished and increased my step count gradually. Swimming would be good too. I can't swim due to other treatment side effects. But gentle exercise does seem to help a bit with the fatigue.

I hope your husband starts to see an improvement soon

[Twodogsandahooch]

I just want to reassure you that it is entirely normal to still feel tired at this point after treatment. Following radiotherapy patients often experience a dip in energy at around 4-6 weeks, and you will probably find that he begins to feel better over the next few weeks or so.
In the meantime Is there anyway that he could reduce his hours temporarily? Did he have a phased return?

[blamethecat]

Thank you, he has seen the consultant today and everything they have checked is still normal, they are going to do a scan soonish as it has been a few months since his last one and he hasn't had one following radiotherapy. They didn't seem unduly concerned by his fatigue which is good to hear for the professionals.

[WhatWouldLeslieKnopeDo]

I'm glad you've had some reassurance. Good luck for the scan results, and I hope the fatigue improves soon