My Get Up and Go Got Up and Went: Fatigue in People With Cancer

Many gaps remain in understanding fatigue across the phases of the cancer experience. These include determining the extent to which fatigue is a presenting or continuing symptom of cancer or a side effect of cancer treatment, identifying those at highest risk of fatigue, defining factors that differentiate between those who do and do not experi-ence fatigue, and characterizing fatigue in special popula-tions such as those with advanced cancer, children, and elders. This article reviews current knowledge of who expe-riences fatigue, the relationship of fatigue to cancer treat-ment, and the phenomenon of persistent fatigue following treatment. Critical elements in the research agenda that need to be addressed include the relationship of fatigue to other symptoms of cancer or side effects of treatment, mech-anisms underlying fatigue and the development of mecha