UNDERSTANDING THE LEVEL OF FATIGUE IN CANCER-PATIENTS UNDERGOING RADIOTHERAPY

This study tests the hypothesis that a discrepancy between resources a nd demands explains most of the variance in fatigue in cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy. Patients (n=250) were interviewed at pretrea tment, posttreatment, and at 9-month follow-up. Resources involved phy sical condition, neuroticism, optimism, social support, gender, age, a nd level of education, remands entailed prognosis, radiotherapy dose, the effort associated with actual activity, and the patient's percepti on of overall burden. Regression analyses were performed, using intera ction terms to operationalize the discrepancy between resources and de mands. The hypothesis was not supported. At pretreatment, physical con dition explained most of the fatigue, whereas, at posttreatment, both the patients' physical condition and perception of burden contributed to fatigue. At follow-up, demands did not add to the variance already explained by resources, and vice versa. Factors that contribute to the patient's physical condition before starting radiotherapy and to his/ her perception of burden need to be addressed to further our understan ding of their fatigue. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Inc.