One of the most common and frustrating side effects of cancer treatment is fatigue — the kind that doesn’t always go away with a good night’s sleep. It can linger for weeks or months after treatment, leaving you feeling flat, foggy and frustrated.
Cancer-related fatigue is different from ordinary tiredness. It’s a whole-body exhaustion that affects your physical energy, mental focus, and motivation. The good news is that with the right mix of nutrition, gentle movement, supplements and restorative rest, you can gradually rebuild your strength and vitality.
Understanding Cancer-Related Fatigue
Cancer fatigue has many contributing factors, whether its the stress of the diagnosis and difficulty sleeping, medications that impact you with different side effects, inflammation as you recover from surgery or chemotherapy, low red blood cell counts or even changes in hormones. Treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation will deplete the body’s reserves, affecting energy metabolism and muscle recovery.
This means that recovery requires a whole-body approach: nourishing your body, rebuilding muscle, and supporting your nervous system to rest and repair.
1. Nourish with Adequate Protein
During and after treatment, protein needs are often higher than usual. Protein supports muscle repair, maintains blood sugar balance and helps regulate energy levels throughout the day. Without enough protein, your body struggles to rebuild tissue and produce essential enzymes and hormones that support recovery.
Usually people need around 1g per kilo of weight of protein daily however after surgery or treatment that will increase to 1.5- 2.0 g depending on your overall health.
How to include more protein:
- Start the day with eggs, Greek yogurt or a protein smoothie.
- Include lean meats, fish, tofu, legumes or lentils with lunch and dinner.
- Add nuts, seeds, or hummus for healthy snacks.
- For those with reduced appetite, protein powders or soups can be an easy way to boost intake.
Aim to include a source of protein at every meal — even a few mouthfuls can make a difference in stabilising blood sugar and maintaining energy.
2. Balance Blood Sugar for Consistent Energy
Many people recovering from treatment notice energy crashes after meals or when skipping food. This is often due to unstable blood sugar, which can worsen fatigue and brain fog.
To keep your energy steady:
- Eat regularly, ideally every 4-5 hours.
- Combine protein, complex carbohydrates and healthy fats in each meal (for example, chicken and quinoa salad with mint and shredded snow peas and cranberries with an olive oil dressing).
- Avoid relying on sugary snacks or caffeine, which cause temporary energy spikes followed by a crash.
- Stay hydrated — even mild dehydration can sap energy and concentration.
3. Move Gently to Rebuild Strength
It might sound counterintuitive, but one of the best ways to reduce fatigue is to move more — gently.
Gentle exercise improves circulation, oxygenation and mood, and helps reduce inflammation. It also stimulates muscle repair and improves sleep quality, all of which support recovery. Again its essential if you haven’t exercise in a while to go low and go slow.
Start slowly and build up gradually:
- Begin with short walks, stretching or gentle yoga.
- Aim for 10–15 minutes daily and increase as tolerated.
- On low-energy days, focus on movement over intensity — even a few minutes counts.
- Listen to your body and prioritise rest when you need it.
Regular movement helps reset your energy rhythms and supports your body’s natural repair processes.
4. Support Recovery with Targeted Supplements
While food provides the foundation, certain supplements can help support energy metabolism, muscle recovery and cellular repair. These should always be tailored to your individual needs, but some that may help include:
- Magnesium: Supports muscle relaxation, energy production and sleep quality.
- B Vitamins: Essential for energy metabolism and nerve repair, often depleted during treatment.
- CoQ10: Supports mitochondrial energy production, particularly after chemotherapy.
- Adaptogenic herbs such as Withania or rhodiola may help regulate stress response and resilience. Personally I do like the 5 mushroom Chinese combinations for energy and immune support however these are best suited to being supported by a practitioner to check on interactions with medications.
Always ensure your healthcare team is aware of any new supplement, especially during or soon after treatment.
5. Prioritise Rest and Recovery
Rest is not a luxury — it’s essential to healing. Cancer treatment places enormous stress on the body, and deep, restorative rest helps rebuild the immune system, hormones and nervous system balance.
Try to:
- Create a regular sleep routine, aiming for 7–9 hours nightly.
- Build restorative breaks into your day — even 20 minutes of lying down, meditation or quiet time can recharge you. Download the free meditations on The Meaning Of Life.TV for 30 days of options.
- Avoid pushing through exhaustion; your body needs signals of safety and rest to heal.
- Try mindfulness or gentle breathing to calm an overactive stress response and promote deeper sleep.
Recovery is not linear — some days will be better than others. The key is consistency over perfection.
6. Rebuilding Your Energy: A Holistic Perspective
Cancer fatigue is multifactorial — which means recovery needs to be multi-layered too. The most effective approach combines nutrient-rich food, balanced movement, stress management, and rest. Over time, these habits help restore your body’s energy systems, reduce inflammation and support emotional wellbeing.
Many years ago I remember asking a very experienced practitioner which change made the most difference? The response was that each intervention added about 16% so decide on how many of those changes you are prepared to implement.
Even small steps — like preparing a protein-rich breakfast or taking a slow walk in nature — signal to your body that you’re rebuilding. If you are not up to a walk by the beach to recharge then just start with a cuppa at a cafe somewhere peaceful.
🌿 Finding Your Energy Again
In my clinical practice, I often work with clients to create personalised recovery plans after cancer treatment — focusing on restoring energy, rebuilding strength and supporting overall vitality. Fatigue doesn’t have to define your recovery journey. With the right nutrition and self-care strategies, you can gradually reclaim your energy and quality of life.
If you’d like help creating a nutrition and recovery plan tailored to your needs, visit christinepopenutritionist.com to book a consultation. If you would like a meal plan that gets you started on recovery download my Better Brain Health recipes to get started today.
Thankyou
I wonder if some of the suggestions would apply to me – a person who has lost both testicles and who has some trouble with TRT and consequently really low testosterone levels. The lack of testicles/testosterone makes retaining a healthy muscle mass difficult, so I’m always looking for advice on protein consumption.
Most of my nutritional advice is applicable across a range of chronic illnesses. You may also find that your protein needs are higher as you get older making it harder to build muscle masss. I tend to increase to 1.5g/kilo of body weight over 50.