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(Ivanhoe Newswire) Three-quarters of cancer patients and survivors treated with chemotherapy suffer insomnia or sleep disorders, which can become chronic, hindering patients' ability to fully recover.
A study of 823 cancer patients showed they experienced difficulty sleeping at nearly three times the rate of the general population. The problem was more prevalent among younger patients and in those with lung and breast cancers.
"These numbers are very high and something we can't ignore," lead author Oxana Palesh, Ph.D., M.P.H., assistant professor of Radiation Oncology at the Medical Center's James P. Wilmot Cancer Center, was quoted as saying. "The good news is that insomnia is a very treatable problem that can be addressed quickly so it doesn't compound other symptoms."
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Palesh and colleagues reviewed data on patients who received chemotherapy between 1997 and 1999 at private practice medical oncology groups that were part of the National Cancer Institute's Community Clinical Oncology Program (CCOP).
Patients answered questionnaires after their first two chemotherapy treatments. Responses to sleep-related questions showed that 37 percent suffered from insomnia symptoms and another 43 percent had insomnia syndrome, as categorized by the Hamilton Depression Inventory, a widely used measure for symptoms of depression. These patients had difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep at least three days per week.
Sleep problems generally accompany patients complaints of fatigue and depression. According to Palesh, the challenge is that once people experience sleep problems and related fatigue, they begin taking naps and going to bed earlier, which perpetuates the problem and is counter-productive to getting restorative sleep at night.
SOURCE: Journal of Clinical Oncology, November 23, 2009
If this story or any other Ivanhoe story has impacted your life or prompted you or someone you know to seek or change treatments, please let us know by contacting Melissa Medalie at mmedalie@ivanhoe.com
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