Sleeping Problems Are Common With Colon Cancer
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Sleeping problems often happen to people with colon cancer. Fortunately, medication can help you cope with the sickness and pain more now than it ever could before.
However, there are many other side effects that are often overlooked. Sleeping problems affect most people suffering from colon cancer at one point or another. If you are having trouble getting the rest you need, you are not alone!
There are many contributing factors to sleepless nights. The intensive treatment, pain and stress are just a few off the list. The medication can cause a variety of symptoms from night sweats to nausea. If you are anxious on top of that, say goodbye to a good night's sleep.
Self Help Methods
There are a few self-help methods you can try to help you sleep better. You probably feel exhausted both mentally and physically, as well as negative and generally low.
First of all, build up to your bedtime by doing relaxing activities. This could be enjoying a massage from your spouse or taking a luxurious bubble bath. The best way to avoid sleep problems is to go to bed with a calm body and mind.
Wear lightweight, loose pajamas. You may be experiencing hot flushes, so dressing appropriately will help regulate your body temperature. Also, change your sheets regularly to avoid waking up during the night to crumpled, stale bedding. Make your bed as comfortable as you possibly can.
If you are feeling nauseous, keep a nutritious snack by the bed and a glass of water. This will prevent you having to get out of bed and waking yourself up more than you need to.
You may find that going to bed at the same time every night, followed by setting your alarm clock for the same time every morning helps. Most people thrive on routine, and your body will eventually learn that bedtime really does mean sleep time.
Support
Having adequate support will clear your head and release your tension. All those thoughts are keeping you wide awake! Your mind is more likely to switch off at night instead of being overloaded with hundreds of worries and questions if you have sufficient support.
Online support groups are a fantastic way to receive much needed reassurance and encouragement. You can also learn a lot about colon cancer from other people in your situation.
Discuss your sleeping problems with your doctor. There are different reasons why cancer patients experience sleep problems, and a doctor can create an action plan specifically for you. They may give you self-help options, or they may even prescribe medication.
Take up a light form of exercise, even though it is the last thing you want to do! You will feel more energized throughout the day, and more relaxed in the evening. Think of it as helping you to:
- stay strong,
- sleep better,
- handle you medication better,
- build yourself up to return to health sooner
Just don't exercise within two hours of bedtime, or you may find you are even more wide awake than before!
We understand that sleepless nights are the last thing you need right now. However, by using these methods, your rest will start to improve. Before you know it you will be feeling better both mentally and physically, ready to face another day ahead of you.
Protect Yourself From the High Cost of Cancer
According to the recent studies, American men have a 44% chance of developing cancer while the chances for women are about 37%. The general risk of developing colon cancer in the United States is about 6%. For this reason, it's important for everyone, particularly people above the age of 50 years, to go for routine screening.
Whether discovered early or late, cancer is a debilitating disease due to the care, costs and the mental and physical trauma involved. Many times the cost of treatment leaves the patient in heavy financial distress.
Most insurance plans do not cover the total cost of the treatment, which leaves the patient and their family in a lurch. These days people have started purchasing supplemental cancer insurance that can help in covering otherwise uninsured expenses related to cancer illness. If you would like to learn more about supplemental cancer insurance you can click here.
Additional Resources
- Colon Cancer Warning Signs - Knowing about colon cancer warning signs can possibly save your life. Some early colon cancer signs are blood in your stool, pain in your abdomen, fatigue etc. Some later symptoms are nausea and...
- Colon Cancer Symptoms - Early colon cancer symptoms are similar to symptoms of other stomach problems. Therefore diagnosis of this disease is not easy. If you are experiencing changes in your bowel habits that persist for more than 4 days it is a good idea to visit your doctor. Another common symptom is...
- Abdominal Pain Left Side - What does it mean to have abdominal pain left side? Abdominal pain can be a sign of various conditions ranging from heartburn and gallstones to colon cancer and hepatitis. In the case of colon cancer the symtoms may involve...
- Bowel Pain - Bowel pain is one of the symptoms for a number of medical problems, including colon cancer. Colorectal cancers often have no symptoms in the early stages until the cancer has progressed. Then bowel pain is likely. Rectal cancer usually occurs...
- Diverticulitis - Diverticulitis can give some symptoms similar to colon cancer, but only your doctor can really diagnose this disease. Diverticulitis results when small pouches in the digestive tract wall become inflamed. Diverticulas form when pressure inside the colon forces...
- Sleeping Problems - Sleeping problems are one of the most common side effects of colon cancer. If you have this problem try to build yourself up to your bedtime by doing relaxing activities such as getting a massage or taking a long bubble bath. Having adequate support will also help by clearing your head and releasing...
- Colon Cancer Causes Loss of Appetite - Colon cancer causes loss of appetite for various reasons. Even though you don’t feel like eating it is important that you keep up your food intake. Not doing so can cause you to lose valuable strength. Some techniques that might help you are to have someone else do the cooking and...
- Colorectal Cancer Symptoms - Knowing what the colorectal cancer symptoms are may save your life. Being educated on this subject is vital because it is the second most common cause of cancer related death in the entire United States. There are a number of factors that will determine whether or not you are at risk of developing colon cancer or rectal cancer some include...
- Symptoms of Rectal Cancer - Rectal and colon cancer symptoms are very similar and may not be obvious until after years of cancerous growth. The medical techniques to detect and remove rectal colon cancer polyps have greatly reduced the number of people who suffer from symptoms of rectal cancer. Some warning signs include...
- Rectum Cancer - What is the difference between colon cancer and rectal cancer? First off both cancers begin in the digestive system but rectal cancer is close to the anus and colon cancer is higher in the large intestine. Some symptoms of rectal cancer include...
- Left Side Stomach Pain - Left side stomach pain is a condition that can be harmless or it can mean something serious is going on. If left side abdominal pain means you have cancer, the doctor will do a colonoscopy. If cancer is found, surgery is done on the affected area and all...
- Bowel Cancer Symptoms - Bowel cancer refers to cancer arising out of the large colon or large bowel. Sometimes there are no bowel cancer symptoms and it is only through a colonoscopy, virtual colonoscopy or a barium enema that cancer is discovered. If you see blood in the stool...
- Signs of Bowel Cancer = There are often no signs of bowel cancer in the early stages of the disease. This is partly why doctors are recommending that people at the age of fifty or older get a screening colonoscopy and get one at least every ten years after that.
