Cancer-related fatigue - Suffering a different fatigue

PURPOSE: The purpose of this naturalistic inquiry was to understand, from t he patient's perspective, the differences between cancer-related fatigue (G RF) and "typical" fatigue and to describe it's impact on their lives. DESCRIPTION OF STUDY: The sample consisted of 17 adult patients with cancer who agreed to participate, yielding 23 in-depth audio-taped interviews. Pa rticipants included inpatients and outpatients from a dedicated cancer cent er and a Veterans Affairs Hospital. Symbolic interaction was the framework used for the interviews to understand how individuals and groups construct and discover the meaning of events. Transcribed data were coded by distress category to classify the textual information and to reduce the text to mor e relevant and manageable bits of data. Five to 10 representative excerpts from each coding category were chosen and were coded independently by a sec ond coder to evaluate intercoder reliability. RESULTS: GRF was found to be more rapid in onset, more energy draining, mor e intense, longer lasting, more severe, and more unrenting when compared wi th "typical" fatigue GRF caused distress in the physical, social, spiritual , psychological, and cognitive domains of the participants' lives. All part icipants agreed that GRF was different than the typical fatigue of everyday life. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: This study's findings indicate that because of this different fatigue, GRF, participants did not just experience the symptom, b ut they suffered with it. The current oncology literature and texts do not portray the morbidity in this study. These data can be used as part of an e xperiential teaching guide to assist healthcare students and practioners in understanding the CRF experience. This increased awareness will afford cli nicians a better foundation for implementing management strategies. A GRF d istress instrument is in development based on these data.