The guidelines recommend regular aerobic exercise – such as walking, jogging or cycling, and strength training – such as lifting weights or using resistance bands, for patients whose cancer has not spread beyond its initial site. Aerobic exercise helps strengthen the heart and lungs.
Research shows that for most people exercise is safe and helpful before, during, and after cancer treatment. It can help improve your quality of life as well as the energy you have to do the things you like.
Walking is an easy way to get aerobic exercise. For example, your health care team may suggest walking 40 to 50 minutes, 3 to 4 times per week, at a moderate pace. Strength training. Muscle loss often happens when a person is less active during cancer treatment and recovery.
Once you feel comfortable, you can work your way up to aerobic exercises, like jogging, cycling (stationary bikes are fine), swimming, or brisk walks. These can help you burn calories, lose weight and build cardiovascular fitness.
Some chemotherapy drugs can damage the nerves that send signals between the central nervous system and the arms and legs. This is called peripheral neuropathy. Symptoms include tingling (“pins and needles”), numbness or pain in your hands and feet, and muscle weakness in your legs.
To be honest the day after chemo wasn't too bad either...just a little fatigue and nausea, but for the most part the anti-nausea meds did their job, and I even managed to sleep for five solid hours that night. Not too shabby all things considered. Days 2-4 following treatment, however, have been super rough.
Chemotherapy drugs target cancer cells which stop or slow their growth. A person undergoing chemotherapy should avoid eating undercooked or raw food, interacting with actively infectious people, overexerting themselves, and consuming too much alcohol.
Try to add strength training, such as lifting weights, a few times a week, too. Consider integrative medicine options. Some people with cancer find relief from fatigue through meditation, yoga and other mindfulness practices that encourage relaxation. Massage and acupuncture can be helpful, too.
Nearly everyone who has chemotherapy has some tiredness. It can be due to the direct effect of chemotherapy on the body. But anaemia may also cause tiredness. This is because chemotherapy can stop your bone marrow from making red blood cells for a while.
A full night's sleep is vital for anyone who has had chemotherapy. Patients should get at least eight hours of sleep if possible. To help sleep throughout the night, recovering patients should not consume beverages or food high in caffeine at least eight hours before retiring for the night.
Drinking plenty of water before and after treatment helps your body process chemotherapy drugs and flush the excess out of your system. Tackle physical changes. If your hair starts falling out, go shopping for a wig or buy a few stylish hats to keep your head warm.
Housekeeping and Disinfecting
It is better to rest if you are tired or not feeling well, as this will help your body recover from chemotherapy. If you do want to do housekeeping, there are a couple of easy tips you can follow to keep your house clean and lower your chance of picking up germs.
Fatigue caused by chemotherapy may last for some weeks or months after a treatment cycle ends. Many people find that their energy levels return to normal within 6–12 months of treatment ending. While fatigue is a common side effect of chemotherapy, it can also be a symptom of depression.
Tiredness (fatigue) is one of the most common side effects of chemotherapy. Many people having treatment feel tired a lot of the time or get tired very easily doing everyday tasks. It can help to: get plenty of rest.
Short, planned delays in chemotherapy for good-risk GCT patients (less than or equal to 7 days per cycle) appear to be acceptable since they may prevent serious toxicity in this curable patient population. Delays of longer than 7 days are strongly discouraged except in extraordinary life-threatening circumstances.
Sickness caused by chemotherapy can start within a couple of hours of starting your treatment and only last a day or so. Or it can come on more than 24 hours after the start of treatment. This is called delayed onset nausea and vomiting and usually lasts about a week.
Is there any risk to family and friends? You may worry about the safety of family and friends while you are having chemotherapy. There is little risk to visitors (including children, babies and pregnant women) because they aren't likely to come into contact with any chemotherapy drugs or body fluids.
In addition, chemotherapy itself can cause muscle weakness and this can persist for months or years after treatment, causing problems such as fatigue and falls which can lead to fractures and increased mortality. Muscle weakness can occur in the absence of weight loss or in the context of significant muscle wasting.
Games, puzzles and crafts.
Crossword puzzles, Sudoku and other games are a good distraction during chemo and can keep your mind sharp, which may help ward off chemo brain. You may want to bring a crochet kit to create a scarf or hat.
Particular chemotherapy drugs are more closely associated with 'aching legs'; around 86% of those on taxanes experience joint or muscle pain (Fernandes et al, 2016, Smith et al, 2020). This is known as TAPS (Taxane Acute Pain Syndrome).