Up to 60 per cent of cancer patients suffer from cancer-related fatigue, but a seemingly counterintuitive method can can help cure it, research has found.
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Researchers at Adelaide University followed 268 cancer patients over a five-year period. Patients participated in a three-month supervised exercise program.
The study, published in the Royal Australasian College of Physicians' (RACP) Internal Medicine Journal, found a three-month exercise program helped all cancer patients, and significantly alleviated fatigue.
Patients with cancer-related fatigue are tired, no matter how much sleep or rest they get.
The patient will continue to feel mentally and physically tired without treatment, lead author, University of Adelaide Associate Professor Anupam Datta Gupta, said.
"Cancer-related fatigue is not a made-up condition. Someone may look fine on the outside to their family and friends, but the reality is they are suffering from severe exhaustion and fatigue," he said.
"These patients are often trying to ameliorate fatigue by sleeping for long periods, but unlike everybody else, they wake up mentally and physically tired. And this fatigue can last for months, even years.
"So, it is very, very different to other types of exhaustion."
One in two Australians will develop at least one type of cancer before the age of 85.
While Australians have a rate of cancer survival, they aren't necessarily living their best lives after treatment, Dr Datta Gupta said.
"We are increasingly getting better at helping patients survive cancer, but we are not helping them cope with some of the side effects of cancer and cancer-related treatment," he said.
"Up to 60 percent of cancer survivors are being deprived of vital rehabilitation services that can markedly improve their health outcomes."
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Patients in the program attended sessions twice a week.
Data was collected over a five-year period from 2015 to 2020.
"We found patients reported a significant decrease in fatigue at the conclusion of the three-month program," Dr Datta Gupta said.
"Patients attended group sessions twice a week that lasted around two hours, under the supervision of healthcare professionals. Pleasingly, over our five-year study, we saw marked improvement in our patients' quality of life and emotional wellbeing."
The majority of Australians with cancer do not meet meet daily recommended exercise targets.
"This is not good enough. We need to integrate rehabilitation services into cancer treatment," Dr Datta Gupta said.
"Our research showed that a targeted and supervised exercise regime that takes place in a hospital setting can clearly help cancer survivors. It substantially improved their mental and physical health as well as treating their chronic fatigue."