Post treatment fatigue

Hi Marianna. Welcome to our community group thank you for your kind comments. It’s  good to hear your dads has completed treatment . What he may be feeling is radiation fatigue it can creep up on you in waves.if he has a cancer nurse  or a Macmillann nurse may be give them a call? When he goes for pet ct scan more than likely he won’t see anyone from his medical team until he goes for his results. Radiation fatigue for me started around the same time has your dad. I found I had to listen to my body and sleep at least twice a day. But I’m not a medic so if you’re concerned get in touch with his team. You can try your g p as well. 
I am now over 3 years post radiotherapy for tonsil cancer with lymph node involvement and happily living my life. 
Please don’t think the worse our treatment has sn excellent success rate xx

Keep in touch. 
Hazel 

Unknown said:

The problem is that over the last couple of weeks he’s started feeling weaker again and his walking has visibly slowed back down, while the running has stopped. He is due his first PET scan next week so I guess all we can do is wait, but I feel like it’s a bad sign that strength is regressing. On the upside his weight has stabilised and he’s still eating well.

Did anyone else find that their recovery had peaks and troughs like this? Should I be pushing him to see a doctor ahead of the scan?

Hi and welcome from me too. Recovery is always two steps forward one step back. That’s normal. The fatigue your dad is experiencing like Hazel has said us due to the radiotherapy. Part of the brain gets a low dose and results in this long term side effect. It does get better. I suffered on and off for a year. There was no fighting it. I just rested till I felt better. So please don’t worry. That’s the likely explanation. 
Good luck with the scan 

Thanks Hazel, that’s encouraging. I think he’s too scared to seek further medical advice at this point and because his scan is so close he just wants to wait. But it’s a nerve-wracking time! I hate seeing him worry.

Marianna

Thank you I really appreciate the reply. Fingers crossed that’s what it is. His mood had really lifted the last few weeks because he felt he was doing well, and now I can see he’s anxious again. We really have to hope for the best.

Marianna

Marianna...you are very welcome. Tonsil cancer has an excellent response to chemoradiation and early treatment failure is rare. Let your dad read the replies here. It should help him a little 

Hi it is really   a case of 2 steps forward 1 step back. In my case week 8 we flew to Spain fior a 3 week holiday and the radiation fatigue set in. My blog info is below with links to others plys Dani s bloc is on her reply. If you read them you can maybe show your dad we all have these setbacks. The treatment  is pretty brutal snd the side effects can linger. 
hope this helps Hazel 

Hi Marianna and welcome to the forum.

I had to reread your post to see when your dad finished his treatment - I'm amazed he's been walking 10 miles a day and doing a little running barely 2 months after since his treatment ended!

I totally agree with Hazel and Dani regarding the fatigue plus the 2 steps forward one step back.  It might be an idea to get his blood checked by his GP to see if his thyroid is working properly.  I began having difficulty with walking any distance about 3 months after my treatment ended and was diagnosed with underactive thyroid which is not unheard of after rt to head and neck.

I think I would also contact his clinical nurse just to run things by her/him.

Hope the PET scan goes well next week.

Linda x

Hello, thank you for your reply. Yes he’s amazing really, he’s always prided himself on being super fit and one of the things he (and tbh I) really struggled with during treatment was how it seemed to accelerate his aging, which also affected his self image.

The plus side is that he has been able to recover more quickly after a very tough initial few weeks post treatment, but of course at points I worry that he’s pushing himself too much, and he gets very down if he can’t manage the distances he wants to.

As it happens he has historically had thyroid issues so perhaps they have been affected by his treatment. I will ask him to check.

Marianna

Hi Marianna. Please do I have annual blood tests to check thyroid levels .it’s quite common that issues arise given the treatment we go through. 
Hazel

It could be that your dad is pushing himself a little too hard too soon Marianna.  I was also very fit before I was diagnosed but the treatment takes a huge toll on the body and can take a while to recover.  It would probably benefit him if he paced himself a little more gently.

Interesting that he's had thyroid issues in the past.  Definitely worth checking.

Linda x