Why is my mum so sleepy when she comes back from chemotherapy?

Some people feel very tired during chemotherapy. This is quite normal and may be caused by the drugs themselves and the body fighting the disease. Often, people are also not sleeping very well during such a stressful time and this will naturally make people feel even more tired.

Tiredness during chemotherapy treatment can also be caused by anaemia. Anaemia is a shortage of haemoglobin in the blood. Haemoglobin is a chemical which carries oxygen around the body and is found in red blood cells. As the red blood cells circulate in the body, they carry oxygen to all the cells of the body. If the number of red blood cells is low, they are not able to carry so much haemoglobin around the body and so the amount of oxygen reaching the cells is reduced and this is giving us less energy. Lower than normal number of other blood cells can also make people feel tired.

For someone who normally has a lot of energy, feeling tired all the time can be very frustrating and difficult to cope with. The hardest time may be towards the end of the chemotherapy treatment period and even after the treatment has ended too.

It may be that your mum needs to cut down on any unnecessary activities and she will need people around her to help with jobs such as shopping and housework.

We hope this helps and that your mum will be getting better soon.