Hello Pammie,

Thank you for posting.

I am sorry to hear that husband is having cancer treatment. 

Tiredness and fatigue is one of the most common side effects of having chemotherapy and radiotherapy, particularly if this treatment is given together as in your husband’s situation.  You may find that between cycles of chemotherapy he may pick up a bit, have a better appetite and be a bit more energetic.  His symptoms may last for the length of time he has the treatment and perhaps for some time after the radiotherapy has finished, getting better gradually . 

It is important that if you are worried about how your husband is, for example, if he is really not able to get out of bed, not able to take fluids and if he has a high temperature to let his hospital know.  You hopefully have been given the contact details of a doctor or nurse if you have a concern.  Never worry that your call is appropriate as it is always better to be safe than sorry.

We have some information about the side effects of radiotherapy for cancers in the abdomen here  and chemotherapy here  .  If you know the specific chemotherapy regime that your husband is having you can use this link here to find the specific drugs he is having for more information.  

Most people will get through their treatment and will recover.  But as I said above when the radiotherapy part of his treatment finishes it may take him some, perhaps a couple of months, after it has finished to recover.  People tend to feel better once all the chemotherapy has finished a couple of weeks after it has been given.

I hope that this reply is of some use. You may find that posting on the different threads of Cancerchat will reach more people who can help.  You would be very welcome to give us a call to talk about this, we have a Freephone number which is 0808 800 4040. We are here from Monday to Friday between the hours of 9am to 5pm.

Take care

Caroline