“I've been in remission for nearly two years, but I'm starting to feel weak and tired again. What is wrong?”
Almost two years have gone by since being in breast cancer remission. But, I feel as exhausted as I was back when I was on chemotherapy. What is wrong? Is it normal to experience fatigue years after fighting cancer?
5 Answers
It is hard to know if the previous cancer diagnosis is the cause of your symptoms. I think that you need a good history and physical examination with appropriate lab tests to more completely assess your symptoms. I would recommend a general internist or family physician to do a complete examination. Good luck. RM
Please contact your oncologist for an evaluation. There are many reasons why people may feel fatigued, some of which are serious, some of which can be easily treated, and some of which are relatively benign but difficult to treat.
After the evaluation, your doctor can tell you what the fatigue means and how to cope with it.
After the evaluation, your doctor can tell you what the fatigue means and how to cope with it.
Thank you for your question, and I'm happy to try to answer it. Without the benefit of seeing you in person, I'm going to be taking an educated guess. Fatigue might just be part of a less serious condition, like chronic fatigue syndrome or your body needing to rest after what you've been through. I'm responsible for imparting to you what the worst case scenario would be, and what I think you're most concerned about-- is your cancer recurring. Of course, there's a possibility that your cancer could recur and affect other organs in your body that may explain fatigue. Fatigue is not usually what we see with breast cancer recurrence, but it's still a possibility. I recommend that you go see your oncologist and have him/her do some cancer markers and/or a PET/CT scan to rule out the possibility of distant metastases. I'm not trying to frighten you- just encouraging you to rule out this possibility before seeking lesser causes of your fatigue. Hopefully, the tests will all be negative and you might be looking at a less significant cause of your fatigue, like anemia, low thyroid, chronic fatigue syndrome, etc. Your doctor can order a full lab panel to start ruling out obvious causes of your fatigue. I hope this is helpful- I'd rather you be proactive now and confront what may be causing your fatigue so you can find a resolution. Please feel free to ask any additional questions. Best, Rachel B. Wellner, MD MPH FACS
If this is new, then I would see your doctor and see if you are due for any scans such as a PET scan. Natural therapies can help. Are you post or premenopausal? Good luck!
It's not normal to feel better then worse 2 years later. A lot of things can cause you to feel tired from hormonal changes to thyroid problems. I recommend you see your medical oncologist or primary doctor to check some basic labs that can assess your thyroid/blood counts/hormone levels. Also depending on what chemotherapy you were given, your heart could have been affected too, and you may need this checked as well.
