Measuring the 'empty tank': Pilot study gauges muscle energy in cancer survivors

MedicalXpress | Apr 20, 2026

Apparently healthy cancer survivors often complain of extreme fatigue. They have finished treatment, the scans are clear, but they feel hollowed out, unable to walk to the mailbox or stay awake through dinner. The languor can linger for years, making it a major, unexplained symptom that clinicians have only been able to measure with subjective, imprecise surveys. But now a pilot study published in Biomedicines may help clinicians obtain a better measurement tool that could eventually lead to better treatments.