title: A phenomenologic study of fatigue in adolescents receiving treatment for cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To generate a detailed description of how adolescents with cancer manage their daily lives and the way in which fatigue affects this.
  
  
  METHODS
  Phenomenologic.
  
  
  METHODS
  A pediatric oncology unit at a regional cancer center in the United Kingdom.
  
  
  METHODS
  A convenience sample of adolescents (N = 8), aged 16-19 years and with hematologic or solid tumors, who currently were undergoing primary treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Semistructured interviews were conducted using 11 open-ended questions.
  
  
  METHODS
  Adolescents' perceptions of fatigue, well-being, and ability to maintain normal activities.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Adolescents reported fatigue as overwhelming and embedded in a syndrome of symptoms and emotions associated with the illness itself and with treatment. Fatigue had a significant effect on physical, psychological, and social well-being, placing an extra burden on adolescents who were striving for normality.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Equipped with a rich description of fatigue, clinicians will be better prepared to initiate strategies congruent with their own work settings and particular patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings should enable healthcare professionals to construct a more accurate and perceptive picture of the needs of particular individuals, highlighting those that may be amenable to intervention.
authors.affiliation: Children's Nursing Research Institute of Child Health, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, London, United Kingdom. gibsof@gosh.nhs.uk
authors.forename: Faith
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gibson
authors.forename: Anne B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Mulhall
authors.forename: Allison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Richardson
authors.forename: Jacqueline L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Edwards
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ream
authors.forename: Beth J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Sepion
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005221:Fatigue / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000628:therapy*; D012107:Research Design; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires