Fatigue is reported by advanced cancer patients to be their most prevalent
and distressing symptom. Despite this, few interventions have been develope
d and tested to manage this debilitating symptom. This paper describes a pi
lot study undertaken to test the effects of a 28-day exercise intervention
on levels of fatigue in advanced cancer patients. All participants were abl
e to increase their activity levels with no increase in reported fatigue. F
urthermore, a trend was noted in all patients toward increased quality of l
ife scores and decreased anxiety scores. All participants described a sense
of satisfaction in attaining increased activity levels. These preliminary
pilot results suggest that patients who initially report the highest levels
of fatigue may achieve the largest decrease in fatigue scores. These findi
ngs provide support for the suitability of this intervention for the pallia
tive care population and justify the importance of further hypothesis testi
ng.