Fatigue in Patients With Cancer : Springer : 9783642514685 : 3642514685 : 19 May 2012 : Current literature shows that there is a gap in our knowledge about how tired­ ness/fatigue in cancer patients should be defined and measured. Existing fa­ tigue-related research in cancer patients shows conceptual and measurement differences (Piper 1993). There is no continuum of tiredness/fatigue in univer­ sal use. What do patients mean if they fill in a visual analogue scale indicating that they feel "very tired"? Is it an indicator of general well-being, and thus an 1993)? Most articles estimate of general quality of life (Hiirny and Bernhard written by English authors use the word fatigue to identify extreme tired­ ness. It could be said that in the English language, tiredness that is perceived as unusual, continuing distress is fatigue rather than tiredness. In the German language, tiredness (Mudigkeit) is not primarily a term for distress attributed to disease or unusual effort. But tirednes