Sleep Disturbance in Supportive Care of Cancer: A Review

Abstract

Insomnia constitutes a significant source of suffering for patients with cancer as they move through the course of treatment and advanced illness. Practicing physicians and caregivers are challenged to address this troubling symptom without the benefit of an extensive literature specific to this population. There is evidence to suggest that the routine clinical management of patients with cancer with insomnia is discordant with best practices documented in the available literature. This paper reviews the literature to characterize the sleep disturbances experienced by patients with cancer. The evaluation and management of insomnia in patients with cancer is reviewed, and a management plan based on available literature is proposed.

The relationship between insomnia and patient satisfaction with quality of life in cancer

“…One of the major goals of palliative medicine in cancer is to control symptoms that may interfere with patients' quality of life (QoL). Insomnia, defined as a subjective complaint of inadequate nocturnal sleep, is the most common sleep disorder reported by cancer patients [9,14]. Insomnia in the setting of cancer is defined differently by individual patients as a disruption of previous sleep patterns, difficulty falling asleep, frequent waking, nonrestorative sleep, or some combination of the above [14].…”

“…Insomnia, defined as a subjective complaint of inadequate nocturnal sleep, is the most common sleep disorder reported by cancer patients [9,14]. Insomnia in the setting of cancer is defined differently by individual patients as a disruption of previous sleep patterns, difficulty falling asleep, frequent waking, nonrestorative sleep, or some combination of the above [14]. Currently, the pathophysiology of insomnia is ill-defined, and it is likely to be underreported by patients [14].…”

“…Insomnia in the setting of cancer is defined differently by individual patients as a disruption of previous sleep patterns, difficulty falling asleep, frequent waking, nonrestorative sleep, or some combination of the above [14]. Currently, the pathophysiology of insomnia is ill-defined, and it is likely to be underreported by patients [14]. One possible reason for the lack of therapeutic success in insomnia is the very limited research conducted on the frequency and correlates of insomnia in patients with cancer.…”

“…Although, the prevalence, type, and severity of sleep complaints in a cancer population have been difficult to judge, insomnia has been reported to occur in 24-95% of patients with cancer reflecting divergent definitions of insomnia and instruments of measure, as well as varied methodologies [3,8,9,14,16,20,22,23]. A crosssectional study investigating the prevalence of reported sleep problems in 982 patients attending six clinics at a regional cancer center found an insomnia prevalence of 31% [3].…”

When a parent has cancer: An examination of the lived experience of adult children living at home

“…According to , cited in Hayne, 2002, in a search for a cure, biomedical experts have searched for scientific knowledge, and in doing so they have come to define healing in terms of logical and "rationalistic factors" (p. There is a vast body of knowledge that has shown that a diagnosis and treatment of cancer brings to the forefront a host of difficulties that threaten the physical, psychological, and emotional well being of the cancer patient. For example, pain, financial burden, anxiety, sleep disturbances, fatigue, nausea, appetite disturbances, hair loss, depression, and fear, among others are well-documented findings in the empirical literature on the impact of cancer on the patient (Chochinov, 2001;Graci, 2005;Herrstedt, 2002;Kayl & Meyers, 2006;Kvale & Shuster, 2006;Richardson, 1995;Rosman, 2004;Visser & Smets, 1998;Wright, Kiely, Lynch, Cull & Selby, 2002).…”