Fatigue, Inattention, and Poor Concentration

Among cancer survivors, fatigue is often profound. In a study sponsored by the American Cancer Society of 752 patients from three states who had been diagnosed the previous year with one of the ten most common cancers, approximately two-thirds were concerned about fatigue and loss of strength. In fact, that was their second greatest concern, ranking just after fear of recurrence. 

We all know that enjoying the great outdoors can he therapeutic. But when people hear it also may help restore attention, generally the response is, Really Looking at a bunch of trees can do that  

Three weeks after surgery (lumpectomy or mastectomy), but before chemotherapy or radiation, each group took their second battery 

Indeed, that was the case in following up on these women after the initial study. Patients were evaluated three more times over the course of about one year. The women in the intervention group maintained improvement in their attention. It did not seem to matter whether they had chemotherapy alone or with radiation treatments, or had radiation alone. 

What apparently did matter was making sure that they interacted with the natural environment and that they avoided mental effort while doing so. The researchers incorporated the work of University of Michigan psychologist Stephen Kaplan and his attention restoration theory.3 His theory relies on four properties. Try them yourself, and see if they help restore your attention. 

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