Cancer-Related Fatigue in Children

Abstract

THE CONCEPT OF FATIGUE as a symptom in children being treated for cancer has been described only recently, yet it is a phenomenon that children, parents, and nurses have been observing since pediatric cancer treatment became more aggressive. Pediatric oncology nurses have always advocated scheduling activities in such a way that allows the child to rest. It seems natural to recommend that a parent allow a child to nap more frequently during treatment. Pediatric oncology nurses and parents also notice that children who are being treated for cancer do not play with the same intensity and duration as they did before treatment. They wear out sooner than their peers or siblings, and parents and nurses make adjustments to take that into account. Yet we do not routinely assess fatigue in our patients. We do not usually discuss fatigue as a side effect of treatment, and we often use different words to describe the phenomenon. Fatigue has been a recognized side effect of cancer treatment in adults, and in recent years there has been an increase in research in regard to measurement, prevention, and intervention to manage treatment-related fatigue in adults; however, for children, the area of inquiry is still new. The questions regarding how a child experiences fatigue are still being answered. The questions about how parents or health care professionals per-