Abstract
Introduction
Sleep disturbance is a very common side effect of cancer treatment. It affects the
physiological and psychological functioning of a patient. It can persist throughout the treatment
and can be more prevalent among breast cancer survivors. Breast cancer is common among
women globally. According to American Cancer Researchers lack of sleep affects the quality of
life among cancer patients and survivors, the symptoms related to poor sleep can be exacerbated.
Sleep problems are common among women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer, this
could have preexisted before the diagnosis or precipitated after the diagnosis. Women with breast
cancer are more likely to experience insomnia (Savard et., 2011) for various reasons such as
disruption of sleep due to increased frequency of hot flashes associated with cancer treatment
and psychological stress following the breast cancer diagnosis.
According to previous research, a high prevalence of sleep disturbance among breast
cancer patients has been reported. One or two aspects of sleep disturbance that is sleep duration
and sleep latency, many used unvalidated survey for sleep assessment European Organization for
Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QOL – C30). The
majority of studies focus on patients’ sleep after one year of diagnosis (IARC), 2022).
Aims and objectives
This research aimsirically supported breast cancer literature on insomnia, they explain the
insomnia treatment options available and extrapolate research guidelines for future directions in
the clinical procedures and practice. However, there is a need r replication of efficacy studies of
cognitive-behavioralmnia and breast cancer as well as studies investigating risk and protective
factors that might lead to insomnia prevention programs. During cancer diagnosis and therapy,
patients undergo medical and invasive surgical procedures and receive treatments potentially
influencing emotional or psychological health including chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and
hormone therapy. Sleep disturbances are common symptoms in individuals with breast cancer.
The incidence varies across studies depending on the study design and assessment methods, but
most studies have reported that 60%–90% of patients with breast cancer have sleep
disturbances—much higher than that in the healthy population. Sleep disturbances are classified
by the Sleep Disorders Classification Committee of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine
into five major categories: insomnia, sleep apnea, hypersomnia of central origin, circadian
rhythm sleep disorders, and parasomnias. insomnia is the most common in patients with breast
cancer. Despite a ficant and symptomatic burden, sleep disturbances are poorly documented and
managed in routine clinical practice.
Sleep disturbances worsen the city life health concerns and cancer recurrence (Savard et
al., 2011), severe pain, and vasomotor symptoms, and reduce energy. Symptomss of
Decisionncer-related fatigue, are closely associated with sleep disturbances in patients with
breast cancer. Hospitalized women with breast cancer and sleep disturbances experience more
complications and have longer hospital stays(Costa et al., 2014). Several studies have also
reported that reduced sleep duration is associated with increased breast cancer recurrence, breast
cancer-specific mortality, and all-cause mortality risks. Randomized controlled studies have
reported that patients with breast cancer who underwent cognitive behavioral therapy for
insomnia demonstrated decreased depression and anxiety levels, alleviated general and clinical
fatigue, and improved global quality of life.
Patients with breast cancer showed a .6% prevalence of sleep disturbances after
treatment. The patients with sleep disturbances were more likely to have previously experienced
psychological disturbances, severe pain, depression within 5 years after diagnosis. After
diagnosis for more than 5 years, higher distress caused by traumatic events is ll associated with
sleep disturbances.
REFERENCES
(IARC), T. (2022). Global Cancer Observatory. Globocan.iarc.fr. Retrieved 27 February
2022, from http://globocan.iarc.fr/.
Savard, M., Savard, J., Trudel-Fitzgerald, C., Ivers, H., & Quesnel, C. (2011). Changes in
self-reported hot flashes and their association with concurrent changes in insomnia symptoms
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https://doi.org/10.1097/gme.0b013e31820db6a1
Costa, A., Fontes, F., Pereira, S., Gonçalves, M., Azevedo, A., & Lunet, N. (2014).
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23(6), 697-709. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.breast.2014.09.003