Like many I'm looking through potential side effects and seen a lot of comments on fatigue. How does the fatigue manifest itself? Is it gradual (by the end of the day you are more tired) or is it the stop you in your tracks sort of thing?
I've heard that exercise is good, but anything else I can do. Attached to the Cancer centre at my local hospital is a support charity. Speaking to them, they offer acupuncture which say helps - Has anyone had experience of this?
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TommyG35
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My experience may not be representative of others, but I did share your concern prior to start of my 39 sessions of lymph node, pelvic area and prostate bed radiation after RP. For that reason, I discussed my concerns with my radiation oncologist as well as staff technicians as they were going thru prep activities prior to my first treatment. I suggest such discussion like this might help you too if you have a good opportunity.
With my 8 week treatment plan which I went through at age 66 the primary point they made is that late in the treatment cycle is when fatigue and other issues are more likely to manifest. The reality for me is that I don’t feel I experienced any fatigue during the full 8 weeks other than getting tired of the daily trip to the treatment center
One side effect which I feel was my radiation treatment related is that I’d do think my rectal area muscles are perhaps a little weaker which has actually been a non- issue too though still occasionally noticeable
You didn’t specify the nature of your own treatment plan which might make a difference too and be helpful to get good responses here
I had radiation at various times and never had debilitating fatigue. In fact I was lucky to sail right through with minimal side effects. Side effects have been much greater with other treatments such as adt and chemotherapy.
I had the exact same experience with 28 sessions of WPRT. No fatigue just sick of driving to and from the center. They had a branch of my gym 200m away so I would have a work out before the session to avoid traffic 😉. The nurses thought it was funny but encouraged me to continue if I could.
How many radiation treatments? I ask because fatigue goes up with the number of treatments. I had 5 and had no fatigue. The obest way to prevent it is with vigorous exercise. Now is not the time to rest.
Yes, I had SBRT. I was treated using True Beam with RapidArc and ExacTrac (stereo X-rays for intrafractional tracking). But IMO the linac makes little difference. No rectal spacers.
Tall_Allen Much appreciated . I'm following advice from UCLA . MRI Guided SBRT , according to them is more accurate than CT Guided . But as uusual , differing opinions worldwide . Some claim the MRIdian machine is superior to CyberKnife - Some use Gamma others Linac etc . Beauty is in the eye of the beholder - Radiation Oncologists pet opinion .
I know that Amar Kishan believes that he can leave only a 2 mm margin (instead of a 4 mm margin with other linacs) and get reduced side effects with MRIdian, while getting the same cancer control. it is certainly true that you can always reduce side effects by reducing margins. But the question is: do you get worse cancer control with the reduced margins? Without long-term follow-up (~ 10 years), it is impossible to answer that.
I don’t know what type of radiotherapy you are doing if it’s seeds or external beam, but I had radiotherapy back in 2010 with the most advanced technology then. I don’t know how it is now hopefully it’s better but it’s the one thing I wish I had never done. It didn’t help and I’ve had side effects from the radiation which has caused urinary incontinence which cannot be reversed because of the radiation. It does make you tired. and they told me to eat the wrong food instead of eating nutritious food. They had me eat white bread, which is the worst thing for prostate cancer. Good luck.
sorry to hear that, the nutrition advice does seem better but a bit contradictory (one booklet they gave me listed ideal foods but another one just said eat normally - I’m going to ask for a dietitian as I also have coeliac disease and osteoporosis).
Some centers want to try to eliminate gas and possible organ movement and so prescribe a "low fart" diet. At my simulation they inserted a catheter to remove gas so I guess it may be important. I also needed to use an enema before each session.
Other centers don't seem too concerned so I'm not sure who is right.
Best of luck, Tommy ! I had 44 IGRT treatments last year. The mild fatigue was noticed (for me) over the last 10 treatments or so. I did go to the gym 5x a week during radiation therapy, doing a lot of cardio, so that might have helped. I also tried my best to 'eat clean' during treatment. No desserts/sugary stuff. Not always easy for me, lol
When I started radiation in November, I had been on Lupron for 6 years. Lupron probably dropped my energy levels 25-35%, depending on the day. Radiation at its peak (prostate and pelvis) dropped levels at least another 10% on the worst days, but seemed to stabilize and ease up once we quite the pelvis and continued with just prostate radiation. All during these periods it was back and forth, bad days and better days.
Exercise helps, definitely, but often there is a crash later in the day. But I hate the days when I don't exercise, even during the long Lupron years.
Finished radiation 1/22. Still on Lupron. Energy is better but still have worse days, like yesterday. Not always clear that it's radiation, but could be.
TA and others offered the best advice - exercise. Only thing I will add is make sure you do BOTH aerobic and resistance.
Like someone above mentioned I left radiation and went to the gym. I started my exercise routine in earnest 4 months prior to starting radiation. Start now so it becomes a habit. I am now 18 months post radiation and go to the gym everyday. You need to develop a no excuse mentality.
6 weeks of daily treatments and had no issues with fatigue. Of course, I always exercise, bike and lift heavy weights. One hint-do NOT be on a high fiber diet. ImodiumAD liquid became a good friend of mine while I switched to the all-white diet the doc recommended. Had an hour long drive each way every day to and from UChicago.
I went through 28 sessions of EBRT last March. I experienced more and more fatigue as they went on, but exercise, diet, and naps help give yourself the time you need to recover.
Full details in my comic, hosted here on this site:
I've had 80 radiation treatments, all protons. No fatigue after any. Work out as much as possible, meet with your center's nutritionist if they have one, eat well, maintain above normal levels of protein, rest and get adequate sleep.
I had 40 EBRT sessions at age 64. Fatigue began a few sessions into treatment. For me it required a midafternoon rest/sleep. All day of activity after 9:30 am treatment meant I was cooked by 4-5 pm. The radiation damages cells, lots of cells, and the body is rushing restoration resources and this requires additional energy normally available to waking activities. Same as any healing. Rest and restore. Same.
Thanks for the various, helpful, comments and details of the various levels of fatigue encountered.I'm still asking about acupuncture - the support charity offering it says it useful, I've heard of it's use for pain but not fatigue, so wondering if others had used it and did it work?
Radiation fatigue generally pales next to ADT fatigue and is temporary. Are you on ADT? Either way, yes the exercise is your best medicine for all the side effects.
I refused the white food/refined flour and sugar diet the RO’s people recommended and struck a compromise by giving up kale and other coarse greens while on it. You don’t need to restrict to the bland food but you do need a clean colon for the sessions. Tough for some of us to do without fiber in the diet. Or laxatives, which I avoid on principle.
Indeed lots of folks are. It seems the OP has not. I used to say I experienced plenty of side effects from ADT but none from radiation, but it began when I had already been on Lupron for 6 months so looking back it would have been hard to actually know that.
sorry I don’t know what ADT is, so I guess I’m not on it. We have discussed the need for an empty bowl, and I’m thinking suppository are my temporary breakfast (it looks like I’m having early radiotherapy appointments so may just have a build up drink, or similar, as it seems pointless having solids). I’m a coeliac and the white bread is like cardboard so I will thinking about a fibre source, but saying that nobody has mentioned fibre.
ADT = Androgen Deprivation Therapy. It's usually started weeks before radiation, but obviously each case is different.
Not sure how it would affect someone with celiac disease, but I relied on 2-3 cups of coffee starting first thing in the morning. Worked like a charm for the bowel concerns, 98% of the time.
ADT hasn't been mentioned, by the time I start radiotherapy I'll have had four months of hormone implants (Zoladex). The coeliac disease just restricts what I can eat, tasteful doesn't always come into it. Being British, it'll be tea (of course 😊).
Zoladex is goserelin an LHRH agonist that effectively stops testosterone from the testes. A small amount of testosterone is also produced from the adrenal glands. Reducing testosterone has been shown to have a synergistic effect with radiation.
Some of my doctor's also looked a little confused when I talked about ADT, I now say hormone therapy and everyone is ok.
I had 2 months of radiation treatments along with starting ADT a little prior to and fatigue for me was minimal until the final 3 or 4 months of ADT (ended May 2024). Exercise and activity maintained and certainly helped with all side effects (mainly some hot flashes from ADT). Positive attitude is also essential. ---- I didn't really think about it all too much and I think that helps also.
Speaking to them, they offer acupuncture which say helps - Has anyone had experience of this?
I would assume that if someone is trying to poke you full of needles, that you're gonna run around trying to escape and you'll get all the exercise you need from running your ass off.
during my 5-6 weeks of salvage radiation at age 57 I was able to play doubles tennis for 90-120 minutes with no problem, but 18 holes of golfing riding in a cart was a big drain. So my stamina was impacted more than anything.
Had my radiation 20 years ago, for prostate cancer, which I am still fighting. It was an experience. I was not aware of the burning of the anal region, which was quite painful and caused treatment for be suspended for about 5 days. The good thing about the treatment is that it bated my PSA for a good two years. Hang in there, we react to our treatments differently. Hope yours will be uneventful. From looking at previous comments, it validates we all experience our treatments differently.
Radiotherapy did gradually increase my fatigue but not as much as ADT did. Still it added a little more each day.
I did 38 sessions of RT and if my memory does not fail me, I think I was able to continue working until I reached around my 30th session. I then took a week or two of vacation as I finished the end of the RT.
Look up hyperthermia and radiation/chemo. The infrared heat is supposed to be beneficial in conjunction with these treatments. A heat mat or sauna may be helpful.
O had old style radiation to my hip 10 yrs ago with no side effects. I had SBRT to my hip 3 yrs ago without any side effects. However, when my L2 vertebrae was radiated with SBRT about 2-3 weeks ago, I definitely felt very tired after the first day, less so after the 2nd and even less after the 3rd. Maybe age was a factor- maybe who knows…
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