Sleep disturbances in cancer survivors

Abstract

A diagnosis of cancer and the subsequent cancer treatments are often associated with sleep disturbances. These sleep disturbances can last for years after the end of the cancer treatment. In cancer patients and survivors, sleep disturbances are associated with anxiety, depression, cognitive impairment, increased sensitivity to physical pain, impaired immune system functioning, lowered quality of life, and increased mortality. Given these associations and the high prevalence of sleep disturbance in cancer patients, it is paramount that clinicians assess sleep disturbances and treat sleep disorders in cancer patients and survivors. Improving the quality of sleep in cancer patients may have critical effects on the lives of cancer patients, effects that range from higher quality of life to length of survivorship.