Linda Brady, Linda.brady@asu.edu
(480) 965-1485
June 9, 2003

ASU study focuses on insomnia intervention for breast cancer survivors

Approximately 51 percent of women treated for breast cancer report symptoms of insomnia - the inability to fall asleep at night or to get back to sleep after waking. Women who have experienced breast cancer have about twice the risk of developing clinically significant levels of insomnia compared to the general population.

ASU researchers Shannon Dirksen and Dana Epstein, faculty members in the College of Nursing, are studying methods for treating breast cancer survivors with insomnia.
The study, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, uses a non-medication treatment for the sleep disorder. Common medications for insomnia can cause side effects, and they may also be dangerous when combined with certain drugs and/or alcohol.

"Persons with insomnia learn ways to improve their sleep by attending small group sessions and through individual phone sessions with a therapist," Epstein says. "The goal of the program is to help the person with insomnia to fall asleep and stay asleep during the night."

Among women with breast cancer who report insomnia symptoms, 58 percent felt the cancer caused or aggravated the sleep problem. Stress or worries associated with the cancer were the most common reasons given for sleep difficulty.

The treatments used in the study have been tested in previous research studies of persons in the general population with insomnia.

"Although insomnia is prevalent, sleep difficulty among cancer patients and survivors has received little attention," Dirksen says. "Our study will evaluate the effectiveness of using the behavioral treatments with breast cancer survivors."
Dirksen and Epstein are looking for individuals to participate in their study. Breast cancer survivors who are 18 years and older, three months past completion of cancer treatment (chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgery), read and write English, have trouble falling asleep and/or staying asleep during the night, and have the problem(s) at least three nights per week may be eligible.

The treatment is provided free to participants as part of a research grant funded by the National Cancer Institute. For information, call (480) 727-8444 or e-mail (insomnia@asu.edu).

Brady, with the College of Nursing, can be reached at (480) 965-1485 or (Linda.brady@asu.edu).