Life after Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is administered to cure you completely of cancer. The side effects that are seen when undergoing chemotherapy usually disappear after the completion of the treatment cycle but in some cases there are a few side effects that are seen much after the completion of the treatment cycle. In some cases the side effects appear after years of treatment while it has also been seen that there are chances of relapse of cancer. Feedbacks from patients who have undergone cancer treatment say that the recovery period after the treatment is painful and it takes some time for them to get back to their day to day routine.
Some of the common symptoms that most of the cancer patients need to overcome after the completion of the treatment cycle are listed below:
Fatigue : This is the most common complaint of all cancer patients as during the first year after recovery the body feels tired and worn out due to the low resistance power of the body. All that is needed is ample of rest. The level of fatigue also depends upon each patient as there are a number of factors like the age of the patient, stage and type of cancer and overall body health.
Fatigue which is felt by almost all patients during chemotherapy is due to the ongoing treatment. Apart from this there are various other reasons for feeling tired and fatigue and some of them may be related to poor nutrition, depression, anemia, weak immune system, less of fluid intake etc.
The reason and the time or pattern for feeling fatigue is more in those who have undergone bone marrow transplant and they tend to feel tired and get easily fatigue for a couple of years even after the completion of the treatment cycle. Some of them get depressed as they are unable to carry out their day to day routine due to fatigue.
Self-help tips to overcome fatigue:
Know the reason for this fatigue; get a daily diet chalked out so that you get to eat a well-balanced nutritional food. Keep a note of all the medications that you are currently taking so that you know that some of these may also be the reason behind your feeling of fatigue.
You also need to add more of fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet along with a large quantity of fluids as this will help flush out the toxic wastes from your body. Exercise regularly and try out exercises which will help relax your mind and body. Added intake of oral herbal nutritional supplements will also help you recover faster.
Apart from this you need to plan out errands well in advance so that you have ample of time to rest and don’t need to overstrain yourself. Find out ways to conserve energy while working also. Take rest in between so that you are able to regain your strength. Early to bed and early to rise will also help you overcome these minor problems.
Take up some hobby that which you are interested in. Joining support groups will help you overcome your problem as they will all have something to share which will benefit you towards speedy recovery.