Fatigue in Women with Breast Cancer Submitted to Radiotherapy

Abstract

Introduction: Fatigue in women with breast cancer after radiotherapy is one of the most debilitating side effects, being a subjective, multidimensional, multifactorial symptom. Objective: To characterize fatigue in patients with breast cancer in radiotherapy who undergo treatment in the radiotherapy service of a reference hospital in cancer treatment in the State of Goiás. Method: This is a longitudinal study. The Piper Fatigue Scale - revised was used to evaluate fatigue at the beginning (T1), middle (T2) and final (T3) of the radiotherapy. Results: The sample consisted of 89 women. The prevalence of T1 fatigue was 26.9%. There was a significant increase in fatigue during radiotherapy, and in T3, 50.8% of the women presented fatigue. There was a predominance of moderate fatigue in T2 and T3, and the most significant increase in fatigue intensity was verified from T1 to T2. The affective dimension of fatigue presented a higher score compared to the sensorial/psychological dimensions. Conclusion: The presence and intensity of fatigue during radiotherapy increased significantly, with moderate fatigue predominating in the last week of treatment. The magnitude of fatigue exhibited higher scores in the affective dimension of the evaluations. Therefore, health professionals must focus more attention to fatigue during radiotherapy.