The Cancer Fatigue Services Difference
Cancer-related fatigue is common, but it is NOT normal.
It is arguably the most burdensome and prevalent (or common) symptom reported by people living with and after cancer. Most people accept cancer-related fatigue as part of their ‘new normal’ because they do not think there is anything that they can do about it. We created Cancer Fatigue Services to challenge this false narrative, relieve fatigue, and restore hope for you and the thousands of people needlessly suffering from this treatable but widely unaddressed health issue.
Cancer-related fatigue is complex.
Without dedicated support, you and other individuals experiencing cancer-related fatigue are forced to:
- Guess the causes of your fatigue, potentially resulting in the misuse of your precious time, energy, and financial resources;
- Coordinate, schedule and attend appointments with multiple healthcare professionals who do not communicate with one another and may have conflicting opinions;
- Independently organize and understand the overwhelming number of tests and expert opinions resulting from these appointments;
- Make your own combined fatigue treatment plan by doing research to identify which treatments are most likely to improve your fatigue and the best order to do them in;
- Monitor your progress, overcome obstacles and setbacks, and keep yourself on track throughout your treatment plan; and,
- hope it will work.
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You can book an appointment with Cancer Fatigue Services!
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Just reading that list is exhausting, which is why we have carefully created a complete healthcare service that simplifies and supports every aspect of your fatigue-related care.
We deliver compassionate, personalized, accessible, and affordable multidisciplinary healthcare for people living with cancer-related fatigue. Cancer Fatigue Services is different – from our peer-led, person-first concierge healthcare model to our use of cutting-edge technology (download our Clinic Information Pack).
Here are a few of the many ways that we can make a difference in your life:
1. Concierge Healthcare Support
Our Customer Care & Clinical Care teams start working for you on day one. The Customer Care Team directly supports and simplifies your care experience by helping you organize and track your fatigue care-related appointments and paperwork, both within our clinic and across our fatigue care partner and affiliate network. Your care is further supported by our Clinical Care Team, who initiates and handles most of the administration and paperwork to support your referral to external healthcare providers for fatigue care-related purposes. These teams work together seamlessly to ensure your precious time and energy are protected, allowing you to stay focused on your recovery.
2. A Peer-Led and Person-First Approach
Too many people feel unheard and fall through our healthcare system’s cracks – particularly those living with more complex health concerns. Cancer Fatigue Services is committed to ensuring that your care is well supported by people who ‘get it’ and will advocate for you and your healthcare needs. Mr. Peter Laneas (CFS Marketing & Outreach Communications Manager) has been busy living after cancer for almost 20 years, following his passions as a wellness advocate and an experienced peer supporter! Peter is an integral part of our care team who works tirelessly on the front line and behind the scenes to ensure your needs are met, your progress is well monitored and supported, and your concerns are heard and addressed.
3. Accessible Care
We are aware that just the thought of leaving the house can be a source of stress for people living with cancer-related fatigue. That is why we built our care model with flexibility and convenience in mind. Our clinic is conveniently connected to the Sheppard-Yonge subway station (located on Lines 1 and 4) and is just 3 minutes (<1 km) away from highway 401. Parking is offered complimentary for all OHIP-covered visits. After your Comprehensive Fatigue Assessment, the rest of your care can be delivered virtually. Our virtual care options ensure that daily changes in your energy levels or geographic location are not barriers to accessing the care you need.
Download our Transportation Options & Tips info pack to learn more.
4. Affordable Care
Financial constraints should not hinder anyone’s ability to live well with and after cancer. Cancer Fatigue Services is committed to ensuring that every individual has access to the fatigue care they require, regardless of their financial circumstances. We are working hard to eliminate the financial barriers preventing people from accessing high-quality fatigue care in three ways.
- Our assessment, treatment planning, and counselling services are covered by OHIP for eligible people.
- Our enhanced assessment and intervention services are eligible for private insurance coverage through most benefits plans.
- Finally, we help people with limited financial means find low- and no-cost fatigue treatment options through our Compassionate Coverage for Care Program.
5. Cancer-Fatigue Focused
While many different forms of fatigue exist, we only treat cancer-related fatigue. This specialization ensures our physicians and therapists stay current with cutting-edge research and novel support approaches for people living with cancer-related fatigue, allowing them to translate the best available evidence into practice to increase the effectiveness and reduce the time it takes to see results.
6. Comprehensive & Innovative Fatigue Assessments
We get answers fast by assessing all the treatable and non-treatable causes of cancer-related fatigue. This appointment lasts between 50 and 75 minutes (depending on the complexity of your case) and evaluates all medical, physical, mental, emotional, demographic, and social factors that may contribute to your fatigue. Results are typically ready within 48 to 72 hours of completing your comprehensive fatigue consultation.
Our fatigue assessments are based on the leading national and international guidelines for cancer fatigue management. However, achieving the best results possible requires doing more than the minimum. That is why we offer enhanced fatigue assessment services that evaluate critically important aspects of your physical health that are likely causes of fatigue for many people, but that have not been included in the guidelines…at least yet!
We are the only fatigue clinic in North America to offer Cardiopulmonary Exercise Tests, advanced bioelectrical impedance analysis, and strength testing. Cardiopulmonary Exercise Tests are the gold standard for assessing the function of your cardiovascular system and how its primary components (e.g. your lungs, heart, peripheral skeletal muscles) work together to deliver oxygen to support energy production. The combination of bioelectrical impedance analysis and strength testing provides important information about the health and function of your skeletal muscles – which is where most energy production in the body takes place. Together, these tests provide critical insight into the health and function of the primary systems responsible for energy production in the body – making them essential elements of our comprehensive fatigue assessment.
Download our Cardiopulmonary Exercise Testing Brochure or Information Pack to learn more.
7. Personalized Exercise Therapy
Over 30 years of research has found that exercise training is the most effective single treatment strategy for cancer-related fatigue. However, a special approach to exercise training is needed to treat complex health issues like cancer-related fatigue.
Everyone knows that regular exercise is generally ‘good for you’. However, a generic approach to exercise training is less effective at addressing fatigue because it is not specific to that individual. An effective exercise prescription for cancer-related fatigue considers the specific injuries and dysfunction within specific organs and body systems contributing to each individual’s fatigue. Like all medical treatments, it is essential that you receive the correct type and dose of exercise to ensure it is safe and effective. Exercise Therapy refers to a special medicalized approach to regular exercise training that is:
- precisely prescribed and tailored to your physiology and functional capacity using the results of gold-standard assessments like Cardiopulmonary Exercise Tests;
- targeted to cause specific physiological adaptations within the body to address the unique causes of your fatigue (e.g. improving the efficiency of oxygen delivery to your skeletal muscles; increasing skeletal muscle mass [the number and size of skeletal muscle cells]; increasing the number, size and function of the mitochondria and related enzyme activity within skeletal muscles to boost energy production capacity within the body; improving glucose control; reducing stress chemicals in the blood; boosting immune system function); and,
- medically supervised to optimize your safety and benefits.
Our exercise therapists have the experience necessary to get you results quickly and safely by delivering exactly:
- what you need – the right type and dose of exercise;
- when you need it – the right sequence and schedule of exercise;
- where you need it – at our clinic, a community gym, or your own home (including helping you find affordable home exercise equipment); and,
- how you need it – from weekly supervised care to self-monitored exercise prescription services.
Download our Exercise Therapy Information Sheet to learn more.
8. Ongoing Physician, Therapist and Care Team Support and Monitoring
We are not your typical specialist clinic. We will not leave you wondering, “What is next?” or “Now what?”! We are your fatigue recovery partners. We are in this with you and will continue supporting you as long as you need us. Our team is actively involved in every step of your fatigue care, from your initial screening appointment to your final fatigue-related treatment and through to at least 12 months after your final appointment/treatment. Your fatigue may be unpredictable, but you can count on our team.
Contact us today to discover how Cancer Fatigue Services can help you.
