1. Make a Date
When you have chronic fatigue from chemotherapy, you might have to pencil in nap times on your calendar. Don't feel guilty about napping; think of your nap as another essential way to take care of yourself during chemotherapy. You don't have to sleep away the afternoon; a catnap as brief as 10 minutes can revitalize you. Don't nap for more than an hour if possible, or you may set the stage for insomnia at night. In addition to your catnaps, you still need at least eight hours of sleep every night.
2. Pumping Iron
Chemotherapy can affect your body's ability to make new red blood cells in the bone marrow. When your body doesn't have enough red blood cells to carry oxygen to your organs and tissues, the doctor gives a diagnosis of anemia. Anemia makes patients feel short of breath, faint and exhausted. If the anemia is moderate to severe, the doctor may prescribe medicine that enhances the body's ability to make new red blood cells. You can help by eating a well-balanced diet that includes iron-rich foods like red meat, poultry and fortified cereals. Drink a glass of orange juice with meals, as the vitamin C enhances iron absorption.
3. Battle Germs
Chemotherapy patients are susceptible to infections when the bone marrow produces inadequate amounts of infection-fighting white blood cells. If you have a reduced level of the white blood cells called neutrophils, you have neutropenia. This can increase your chances of developing infections that lead to fever and chills. Having a fever or any type of infection can cause fatigue. Practice good hand washing to prevent illness, and avoid crowds and sick people. Check your temperature daily, and call your doctor if you have a fever over 100.5 degrees Fahrenheit.
4. Maintain Good Nutrition
Nausea and vomiting is a common side effect of chemotherapy, due to the effect the drugs have on the rapidly dividing cells of the gastrointestinal tract. Even when you aren't nauseous, chemotherapy can impair your appetite. However, it's important to maintain good eating habits, even when you don't feel hungry. A poor diet contributes to weakness, fatigue and undesirable weight loss. Fatigue from a poor diet can further sabotage your efforts to eat well when you don't feel like preparing food. Enlist help from friends and family when you don't feel like cooking. Keep ready-to-eat foods on hand, and stock instant meal drinks in your pantry.
5. Energize With Exercise
Ironically, remaining inactive for long periods can increase feelings of fatigue. If your doctor gives permission to proceed, engage in light physical exercise, like walking or water aerobics. Exercise for cancer patients combats fatigue on several levels: It helps you to sleep better and longer at night, it reduces fatigue-causing depression, and it stimulates your appetite.
