Home → Day-to-Day Matters → Managing Fatigue → Ask-the-Expert Conferences: Managing Fatigue → January 2008: Managing Fatigue During and After Treatment → Continue to exercise with no motivation?

Continue to exercise with no motivation?

Page last modified on: October 7, 2008

Question from JanH: It's been 2 months since my last chemotherapy session, and I still find that exercise wears me out, instead of energizing like it used to. Should I wait or continue? I'm a believer in the benefits of regular exercise, but motivation now is hard. Thanks.: Answers —Diana Dyer, M.S., R.D.: From personal experience, having experienced profound and prolonged fatigue after my first chemotherapy, what I wish I would have done is actually hire a personal trainer. Retrospectively, that would have helped me get off the couch and actually exercise and have some expertise guiding me so I wasn't trying to overdue it from determination and also guilt at how poorly I was feeling. So, it's a downward spiral and I think having that objective person outside the emotional realm I was in, helping to guide and motivate me, would have been very beneficial.; Lillie Shockney, R.N., B.S., M.A.S.: I think, if it's not realistic to get a personal trainer, because there might be expense involved, get a friend to exercise with, to be your cheerleader and motivator. That could be helpful. This may not be something you can do by yourself, but having someone there physically with you, supporting you and cheering you on could be a very good motivator.

On Wednesday, January 16, 2008, our Ask-the-Expert Online Conference was called Managing Fatigue During and After Treatment. Diana Dyer, M.S., R.D., Tish Knobf, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., A.O.C.N., and Lillie Shockney, R.N., B.S., M.A.S. answered your questions about ways to keep up your energy, how nutrition can affect fatigue, and how exercising can help.

The materials presented in these conferences do not necessarily reflect the views of breastcancer.org. A qualified healthcare professional should be consulted before using any therapeutic product or regimen discussed. All readers should verify all information and data before employing any therapies described here.

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Meet the Experts

Diana Dyer, M.S., R.D. is a registered dietitian in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and a two-time breast cancer survivor.

Tish Knobf, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., A.O.C.N. is the American Cancer Society associate professor of Oncology Nursing at Yale University. She participates in various research programs that focus on cancer recovery and exercise, risk factors for cancer, and symptoms before and after cancer therapy.

Lillie Shockney, RN., BS., M.A.S. Lillie Shockney, R.N., B.S., M.A.S. is the administrative director of the Johns Hopkins Avon Foundation Breast Center.