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Review
. 2011 May;38(3):E191-203.
doi: 10.1188/11.ONF.E191-E203.

Patients' experiences with cancer-related fatigue: a review and synthesis of qualitative research

Jane A Scott  1 , Kathryn E Lasch, Andrea M Barsevick, Elisabeth Piault-Louis
Affiliations
Review

Patients' experiences with cancer-related fatigue: a review and synthesis of qualitative research

Jane A Scott et al. Oncol Nurs Forum. 2011 May.

Abstract

Purpose/objectives: To systematically review published qualitative reports of descriptions of fatigue by patients with cancer and how cancer-related fatigue (CF) affects their lives.

Data sources: MEDLINE®, CANCERLIT®, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature.

Data synthesis: Two researchers conducted independent reviews of 667 patient quotes found in 154 articles published from 1996-2009 to identify concepts and language used to describe CF.

Conclusions: CF is more intense than the tiredness patients recalled from before diagnosis or treatment. Published patient quotes fail to adjudicate whether CF should be approached as a single symptom or a more complex symptom cluster.

Implications for nursing: Systematic study of patients with different cancer types and stages is needed to identify effective, valid, and reliable self-reported assessments of CF for clinical practice and trials.

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