Professor Tao Sun: Cancer-related fatigue cannot be easily ignored by the clinic

The current main treatment options for tumors include traditional surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, interventional therapy, endocrine therapy, as well as immunotherapy, targeted therapy, and biological therapy that have developed rapidly in recent years.

One of the "special" symptoms, about 60% of patients has appeared at the time of first diagnosis.

"In recent years, with the rapid development of medical research, new anti-tumor drugs have emerged one after another, and the survival time of patients has been prolonged.

Cancer-related fatigue cannot be underestimated

The NCCN guidelines clearly define cancer-related fatigue as: a painful, persistent, subjective sense of physical, emotional, or cognitive fatigue or exhaustion.

According to Professor Sun, a foreign research study shows that among patients with fatigue experience, 91% of patients believe that fatigue has affected their normal life, 88% of patients believe that fatigue has forced them to change their life patterns, and 75% of them Changed jobs because of fatigue

In addition, cognitive dysfunction is also related to fatigue, manifested as distraction and lack of clear thinking

Among patients with advanced tumors, the incidence and severity of fatigue are higher in patients receiving chemotherapy and radiotherapy than those receiving other treatments

In general, the combined chemotherapy regimen is more serious than the single-agent chemotherapy regimen.

Traditional Chinese medicine combined with nutritional supplements are effective

Since the mechanism for fatigue is not fully clear, although there are some hypotheses, the evidence supporting these hypotheses is very limited

Recently, Professor Sun received an elderly patient with advanced breast cancer with multiple metastases such as lung, liver, bone, etc.

As the head of the department, Professor Sun pays special attention to the treatment of patients' fatigue symptoms

Professor Sun told reporters that there are many patients like this, and through these successful cases, clinicians are more convinced of the importance of Chinese medicine and nutritional support treatment in improving patient fatigue

Chinese patent medicine is safe and effective to improve symptoms

In the current medical environment, the workload of doctors is heavier.

Professor Sun pointed out that many cancer patients said that fatigue is still the main factor that plagues their work and life several months or even years after the end of treatment

As fatigue is a subjective feeling, doctors need to rely on the description of symptoms provided by patients to make judgments.

The treatment of fatigue mainly includes physical exercise, psychological counseling, nutritional intervention and drug treatment

At present, the comprehensive treatment of cancer is mainly based on western medicine.
In most hospitals, western medicine doctors account for more than 90% of all oncology doctors, and there is often a lack of cooperation in treatment and fighting on their own.
This also makes it difficult for most patients to accept when they are tired.
When it comes to professional Chinese medicine treatment, in fact, Chinese medicine treatment is an effective method for alleviating the symptoms of fatigue in patients, which should not be underestimated
.

Cancer-related fatigue belongs to the category of "deficiency" in Chinese medicine.
The 2020 version of the "Guidelines for the Clinical Application of Chinese Patent Medicines in the Treatment of Cancer-related Fatigue" points out that decoctions or Chinese patent medicines have a certain clinical effect on the treatment of cancer-related fatigue and their combined application is not good.
The response is small, and it can be used as a supplement or even alternative treatment for cancer-related fatigue
.
The advantages of proprietary Chinese medicines are that they can improve symptoms, are safe and effective, and can be used in different stages of tumor treatment.
They can also be used at the same time as radiotherapy and chemotherapy, which helps to reduce the adverse reactions of patients with radiotherapy and chemotherapy
.

Professor Sun believes that in the current anti-tumor treatment, how to improve the efficacy and prolong survival as much as possible is the main concern of most doctors and patients, but symptom management is often ignored, so that patients can maintain a good life as much as possible.
The awareness of quality is far from enough
.
For patients who have a chance of early cure for cancer, many of them will still suffer from long-term cancer-related fatigue after receiving adjuvant postoperative treatment, which seriously affects the patient’s recovery process, reduces the patient’s quality of life, and makes the patient enveloped in the disease for a long time.
In the shadows
.
For these patients, if cancer-related fatigue can be treated at the same time as anti-tumor treatment, some of them will get rid of fatigue, shorten the recovery time, and significantly improve the quality of life
.

For advanced patients, the purpose of anti-tumor therapy is to prolong survival and improve quality of life, both of which are equally important
.
In many cases, as doctors, we must keep a clear head and not blindly pursue tumor reduction while ignoring the quality of life of patients
.
If there is no good quality of life, no matter how long the survival period is, it will be meaningless
.
Especially for patients who have a long course of disease and have received multiple lines of treatment in the past, their physical functions are often in a relatively weak state.
When formulating a treatment plan, it is necessary to choose drugs with less side effects and suitable for long-term maintenance treatment.
As a doctor, patients with cachexia should work hard to alleviate their discomfort symptoms, improve nutrition, and enable patients to face death with more dignity
.