Fatigue Assessment and its Associated Factors in Breast Cancer Patients Under Chemotherapy Treatment

Fatigue is a common distressing problem in most breast cancer patients. It may be caused by the disease, its complications and its treatment.The current study aimed to evaluate the magnitude of fatigue in breast cancer patients who were under chemotherapy treatment and factors associated with fatigue. To fulfill the aim of the study a descriptive design was conducted on 100 patients recruited from the outpatient clinic for chemotherapy administration from April 2011 to August 2011 in King Hussein Cancer Center, Amman, Jordan. Fatigue Symptoms Inventory (FSI) scale was used for assessment of fatigue contains four subscales (severity, interference with daily activity, frequency and diurnal). The result of this study declared that the highest total mean score of fatigue subscale was (4.54±2.50) for frequency of fatigue in last week, followed by a high mean score of fatigue (4.42±2.86) for the subscale of fatigue interference with activity for the past week, while the lowest mean score was for the daily pattern of fatigue (2.93±1.33). Concerning the fatigue severity, the highest percentage (36%) of patients had moderate fatigue. In conclusion, fatigue is a significant problem for patients with breast cancer receiving chemotherapy although its severity is relatively different according to various variables.