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Cancer and Fatigue

Cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation can cause so much fatigue that the cancer patient often wonders what is worse – the disease or the treatment for it!

Fortunately, complementary medicine offers much to assist the cancer patient and below are a few suggestions.  I used most of these at one time or another during my breast cancer treatments and can highly recommend them.

6 Helpful Remedies for Cancer Treatment Fatigue

1. Combine Massage with Essential Oils – You wouldn’t think that something which promotes relaxation would actually help with fatigue!  But massage is wonderful.  If you ask your therapist to include certain essential oils (such as lemongrass, eucalyptus, juniper, basil, lemon, rosemary, cypress, peppermint) as fatigue busters you will definitely notice a difference, especially the day following your massage.  Or use some of the suggested oils daily, just breathing in essential oils on a regular basis can help banish fatigue and promote clearer thinking.
2. Eat your Greens! – Sometimes this can be really hard.  I remember just thinking about eating a green salad when I was undergoing chemotherapy would almost make me gag.  I just could not stand the thought of it!  If you’re like that, it might be easier to take supplements.  If you need suggestions about the best ones to take, see my webpage:  Marnie’s Must-Have Supplements for Breast Health
3. Experience Chinese Medicine – While I was undergoing chemotherapy, I saw a Chinese Medicine doctor who prescribed certain herbs and did acupuncture for me every couple of weeks – I believe this helped my chemo related fatigue immensely.  The Chinese have some truly healing herbs that will really help your chi (energy).
4. Try the Amazingly Restorative Juice of Lycium Barbarum – I drank this juice just as soon as I got my breast cancer diagnosis.  I’d been doing research on it for several years so I knew the wonderful benefits of it. I truly believe that this remarkable berry confers health benefits far and above every other juice product on the market.  I took it with me to my chemotherapy appointments – while they were pouring their chemicals into me, I was drinking goji/wolfberry juice.  I rarely suffered any fatigue or nausea.
5. Movement Practices such as Yoga – I found yoga to be absolutely fantastic while I was undergoing treatments and I still carry on with it to this day.  It seems to help you stay active and full of energy, while at the same time it decreases stress and tension.  If you don’t have access to a class, this is a great yoga DVD for beginners.
6. Grab Some Extra Sleep – It may seem obvious, but if you’re suffering unduly from cancer related fatigue, sometimes the best thing to do is just sleep.  Give yourself permission to do this whenever you need to!  No feeling guilty!

I hope this post helps you and I wish you great healing today.

I send my love to everyone taking this journey right now. If you would like my help with getting through breast cancer in an inspiring and ultra-healthy way, please sign up for my free e-newsletters on the right, or “like” me on Facebook (Marnie Clark, Breast Health Coach) and I’ll do my utmost to keep you informed and empowered on your healing journey… and beyond.