{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.023, 'fraction_numerical': 0.0055, 'mean_word_length': 5.413461538461538, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
From the National Institute of Nursing Research--can behavioral therapy alleviate some adverse effects of chemotherapy?

M of the adverse effects of cancer treatment in adults traditionally focuses on the alleviation of pain, nausea, and vomiting. Fatigue and poor sleep, however, plague up to 50% of adults with cancer, including one-third of breast cancer survivors. Researchers tested the effectiveness of a four-component behavioral therapy (BT) sleep intervention—the Individualized Sleep Promotion Plan—in the improvement of sleep quality and fatigue in women undergoing chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer. The plan consisted of modified stimulus control, modified sleep restriction, relaxation therapy, and sleep hygiene counseling. A total of 219 women (mean age, 52 years) undergoing treatment for stages I through IIIA breast cancer were randomized to either the BT intervention group or a healthy eating education control (HEC) group. Patients were given the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, a daily sleep diary, an actigraph, and the Piper Fatigue Scale for two days before their initial chemotherapy treatment, for seven days and nights during treatment, and for 30 days after the final treatment. Outcomes were compared with baseline measurements by group and time. Patients in the BT group had significantly improved perceived sleep quality over time. Those in the HEC group experienced increased sleep disturbance, and their sleep remained disturbed at 30 days posttreatment. The BT group reported significantly fewer nighttime awakenings, fewer minutes awake after sleep onset, and higher sleep efficiency compared with the HEC group. The objective sleep quality measure, the actigraph, also showed that the BT group had fewer nighttime awakenings than the HEC group. There was no difference in the level of fatigue between groups. Results indicate that early initiation of a BT sleep program may provide important adjuvant therapy for sleep disturbance during cancer treatment.