Treating fatigue in cancer patients.

Possible causes of cancer-related fatigue include depression, pain, sleep problems, anemia, deconditioning, metabolic abnormalities, infection, dietary problems, hypoxia, and side effects of medication. Although treatments are available for each of these conditions, there are no generally accepted treatments available for the whole fatigue syndrome. There are also very few studies on the treatment of cancer-related fatigue-only 10 randomized controlled trials. Health care providers have begun to understand that, just as the treatment of pain requires attention to imbalances in mind, body, and spirit, the treatment of fatigue will require such an approach.