Cancer-related fatigue, including Neuroendocrine Cancer, impacts on, or can be a result of, sleep disturbances and affects many people, before, during and after treatment. It can have a seriously debilitating impact on lives, but effective interventions have so far proved hard to find.
So what can help?
- Recognising and understanding the possible causes – and acknowledging the impact it is having on you can help in being able to discuss the issue with your healthcare team – so that they can understand the effect it is having on your well-being and provide support, intervention (as required) and information
- Age – this can impact on pattern of sleep and how much sleep we may need
- Fatigue – physical and / or psychological fatigue
- Other symptoms that may be affecting your sleep – such as pain, itching, breathlessness, etc.
- Preferences – where you sleep – temperature of room, lighting, bedlinen, your usual routine – “early bird’ or ‘night owl’, etc.
- Experiences and the outcome of previous strategies / treatment(s) – what has helped in the past
- Having information about the range of interventions and strategies available to you – such as psychological support and self-care techniques.
