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Breast cancer

breast-mm affected-cancer/cancer-types/breast-cancer/what-breast-cancer
    • Home
    • Types
      • Ductal carcinoma in situ
      • Lobular carcinoma in situ
      • Early breast cancer
      • Paget's disease of the nipple
      • Inflammatory breast cancer
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      • Metastatic breast cancer
    • Statistics
    • Risk factors
    • Symptoms
      • Ductal carcinoma in situ
      • Lobular carcinoma in situ
      • Early breast cancer
      • Paget’s disease of the nipple
      • Inflammatory breast cancer
      • Locally advanced breast cancer
      • Metastatic breast cancer
    • Awareness
      • iPrevent
    • Diagnosis
      • Tests
        • Triple test
      • Stages of breast cancer
      • Receiving a diagnosis
      • Diagnosis of early breast cancer
        • What the pathology report means
      • Diagnosis of ductal carcinoma in situ
        • What the DCIS pathology report means
      • Diagnosis when breast cancer spreads
      • Questions to ask
    • Treatment
      • Treatment team
        • Members of the team
        • Talking with health professionals
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        • Tips for making decisions
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        • MammaPrint ® (70 gene signature) test
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        • Breast-conserving surgery
        • Mastectomy
        • Surgery to the armpit (axilla)
        • Surgery for metastatic breast cancer
        • Breast reconstruction
        • Choosing a surgeon
        • Questions to ask
        • Care after surgery
      • Radiotherapy
        • Early breast cancer
        • Metastatic breast cancer
        • Questions to ask
        • Skin care
        • Travelling
      • Chemotherapy
        • How does chemotherapy work?
        • Type of chemotherapy
        • What does chemotherapy involve?
        • Side effects
        • Questions to ask
      • Hormonal therapies
        • Hormone receptors
        • Types of hormonal therapy
        • Side effects
        • Menopause and oestrogen production
        • Deciding about hormonal therapies
        • Questions to ask
      • Targeted therapies
        • HER2 receptors
        • Types of targeted therapy
        • Questions to ask
      • Complementary & alternative therapies
        • Complementary therapies
        • Questions to ask
        • Where to find more information
      • Palliative care
        • What is palliative care?
        • Accessing palliative care
        • Questions to ask
      • Ductal carcinoma in situ
      • Lobular carcinoma in situ
      • Early breast cancer
      • Paget's disease of the nipple
      • Inflammatory breast cancer
      • Locally advanced breast cancer
      • Metastatic breast cancer
      • Follow-up
        • Physical examinations
        • Breast imaging tests
        • Questions to ask
      • Advanced disease
        • When treatment stops
        • Facing the possibility of dying
        • Putting your affairs in order
        • Questions to ask
      • Recurrent and secondary cancer
        • What makes spread more likely
    • Living with
      • Practical aspects of diagnosis
        • Costs of treatment and prostheses
        • Travel schemes
        • Questions to ask
        • Choosing a cancer treatment
      • Physical changes
        • Body image
        • Menopause
        • Fertility
        • Lymphoedema
      • Emotional changes
        • How you might feel
        • Effects on partners
        • Effects on children
        • Effects on family and friends
      • Physical changes – metastatic
        • Pain
        • Symptoms and treatment side effects
      • Emotional changes – metastatic
        • Common feelings
      • Practical aspects - metastatic
        • Work
        • Financial support
        • How to access support at home
        • How to access support outside home
        • Questions to ask
    • Life after
      • Health
        • Fatigue
        • Poor sleep
        • Lymphoedema
        • Menopause
        • Pain
        • Diet
        • Exercise
      • Feelings
        • Finding a new ‘normal’
        • Fear of recurrence
        • Feelings of loss
        • Isolation
        • Anxiety and depression
        • Not sure how you feel?
      • Relationships
        • Partners
        • Children
        • Friends
        • Colleagues
      • Practical issues
        • Returning to work
        • Questions to ask your health fund
    • Support
    • Clinical trials
      • What happens in a clinical trial?
      • What are the phases of a clinical trial?
      • Advantages and disadvantages
      • Questions to ask about clinical trials
      • When to find more information
    • Health professionals
      • Menopausal symptoms
      • Screening
      • Breast cancer diagnosis
      • Early breast cancer
      • Metastatic breast cancer
      • Ductal carcinoma
      • Lobular carcinoma
      • GP guides and resources
      • Follow-up care
      • Breast cancer Qstream
    • Home
    • Types
      • Ductal carcinoma in situ
      • Lobular carcinoma in situ
      • Early breast cancer
      • Paget's disease of the nipple
      • Inflammatory breast cancer
      • Locally advanced breast cancer
      • Metastatic breast cancer
    • Statistics
    • Risk factors
    • Symptoms
      • Ductal carcinoma in situ
      • Lobular carcinoma in situ
      • Early breast cancer
      • Paget’s disease of the nipple
      • Inflammatory breast cancer
      • Locally advanced breast cancer
      • Metastatic breast cancer
    • Awareness
      • iPrevent
    • Diagnosis
      • Tests
        • Triple test
      • Stages of breast cancer
      • Receiving a diagnosis
      • Diagnosis of early breast cancer
        • What the pathology report means
      • Diagnosis of ductal carcinoma in situ
        • What the DCIS pathology report means
      • Diagnosis when breast cancer spreads
      • Questions to ask
    • Treatment
      • Treatment team
        • Members of the team
        • Talking with health professionals
        • Questions to ask
      • Deciding about treatment
        • Travelling
        • Pregnancy
        • Tips for making decisions
        • Questions to ask
        • MammaPrint ® (70 gene signature) test
      • Surgery
        • Breast-conserving surgery
        • Mastectomy
        • Surgery to the armpit (axilla)
        • Surgery for metastatic breast cancer
        • Breast reconstruction
        • Choosing a surgeon
        • Questions to ask
        • Care after surgery
      • Radiotherapy
        • Early breast cancer
        • Metastatic breast cancer
        • Questions to ask
        • Skin care
        • Travelling
      • Chemotherapy
        • How does chemotherapy work?
        • Type of chemotherapy
        • What does chemotherapy involve?
        • Side effects
        • Questions to ask
      • Hormonal therapies
        • Hormone receptors
        • Types of hormonal therapy
        • Side effects
        • Menopause and oestrogen production
        • Deciding about hormonal therapies
        • Questions to ask
      • Targeted therapies
        • HER2 receptors
        • Types of targeted therapy
        • Questions to ask
      • Complementary & alternative therapies
        • Complementary therapies
        • Questions to ask
        • Where to find more information
      • Palliative care
        • What is palliative care?
        • Accessing palliative care
        • Questions to ask
      • Ductal carcinoma in situ
      • Lobular carcinoma in situ
      • Early breast cancer
      • Paget's disease of the nipple
      • Inflammatory breast cancer
      • Locally advanced breast cancer
      • Metastatic breast cancer
      • Follow-up
        • Physical examinations
        • Breast imaging tests
        • Questions to ask
      • Advanced disease
        • When treatment stops
        • Facing the possibility of dying
        • Putting your affairs in order
        • Questions to ask
      • Recurrent and secondary cancer
        • What makes spread more likely
    • Living with
      • Practical aspects of diagnosis
        • Costs of treatment and prostheses
        • Travel schemes
        • Questions to ask
        • Choosing a cancer treatment
      • Physical changes
        • Body image
        • Menopause
        • Fertility
        • Lymphoedema
      • Emotional changes
        • How you might feel
        • Effects on partners
        • Effects on children
        • Effects on family and friends
      • Physical changes – metastatic
        • Pain
        • Symptoms and treatment side effects
      • Emotional changes – metastatic
        • Common feelings
      • Practical aspects - metastatic
        • Work
        • Financial support
        • How to access support at home
        • How to access support outside home
        • Questions to ask
    • Life after
      • Health
        • Fatigue
        • Poor sleep
        • Lymphoedema
        • Menopause
        • Pain
        • Diet
        • Exercise
      • Feelings
        • Finding a new ‘normal’
        • Fear of recurrence
        • Feelings of loss
        • Isolation
        • Anxiety and depression
        • Not sure how you feel?
      • Relationships
        • Partners
        • Children
        • Friends
        • Colleagues
      • Practical issues
        • Returning to work
        • Questions to ask your health fund
    • Support
    • Clinical trials
      • What happens in a clinical trial?
      • What are the phases of a clinical trial?
      • Advantages and disadvantages
      • Questions to ask about clinical trials
      • When to find more information
    • Health professionals
      • Menopausal symptoms
      • Screening
      • Breast cancer diagnosis
      • Early breast cancer
      • Metastatic breast cancer
      • Ductal carcinoma
      • Lobular carcinoma
      • GP guides and resources
      • Follow-up care
      • Breast cancer Qstream
  1. Home
  2. Life after
  3. Health
  4. Poor sleep
  • Health
    • Fatigue
    • Poor sleep
    • Lymphoedema
    • Menopause
    • Pain
    • Diet
    • Exercise
  • Feelings
  • Relationships
  • Practical issues

Insomnia and disrupted sleep

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  • A|A

Many women experience insomnia and disturbed sleep after breast cancer. People with insomnia or disrupted sleep have difficulty getting to sleep or staying asleep. Disrupted sleep can cause fatigue and tiredness. People’s experience of ‘a good night’s sleep’ varies. People often describe disrupted sleep as having trouble sleeping, dissatisfaction with quality of sleep, and feeling tired during the day.

Not being able to fall asleep or stay asleep can be upsetting and frustrating. Feeling anxious about trying to get enough sleep can add to the stress and difficulty of falling asleep.

Tips to help with disrupted sleep
  • Before bed, avoid caffeine-based drinks, alcohol, and other stimulants like cigarettes. If you’re used to having a bedtime drink, try a non-stimulating herbal tea, like chamomile.
  • Use the bedroom for sleep only – no TV or written work (sex is fine!).
  • Establish a regular bedtime and waking routine – it’s OK to take short naps (no longer than an hour) during the day, but try not to rest for long periods, to avoid not sleeping well at night.
  • Don’t exercise strenuously before bedtime.
  • Only go to bed if you are sleepy.
  • If you can’t sleep, get up and do something else until you feel sleepy again.
  • Try controlled breathing – deep slow abdominal breathing.
  • Consider asking your general practitioner for a short-term mild sedative.

If you’re having trouble sleeping, or you regularly wake up feeling anxious or worried, talk to your doctor. Treatments are available that can help.

  • Last Updated
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updated: 20 October 2020 - 3:32pm
Australian Cancer Trials

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A diagnosis of cancer marks the beginning of a journey full of emotional, psychological, physical and practical challenges.

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While looking forward to finishing their cancer treatment and getting on with life, for some people, the end of treatment can also be a confusing or worrying time.

A-Z List of Cancer Types

Information on more than 70 types of cancer

  • Bladder cancer
  • Bowel cancer
  • Brain cancer
  • Breast cancer
  • Breast cancer in men
  • Breast cancer in young women
  • Cervical cancer
  • Children's Cancer
  • Endometrial cancer
  • Fallopian cancer
  • Gestational trophoblastic disease
  • Gynaecological cancers
  • Head and neck cancer
  • Kidney cancer
  • Leukaemia
  • Liver cancer
  • Lung cancer
  • Lymphoma
  • Melanoma of the skin
  • Mesothelioma cancer
  • Myeloma
  • Neuroendocrine tumours
  • Oesophageal cancer
  • Ovarian cancer
  • Pancreatic cancer
  • Prostate cancer
  • Sarcoma
  • Stomach cancer
  • Testicular cancer
  • Thyroid cancer
  • Unknown primary
  • Uterine sarcoma
  • Vaginal cancer
  • Vulval cancer

About Cancer Australia

Cancer Australia was established by the Australian Government in 2006 to benefit all Australians affected by cancer, and their families and carers. Cancer Australia aims to reduce the impact of cancer, address disparities and improve outcomes for people affected by cancer by leading and coordinating national, evidence-based interventions across the continuum of care.

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