Sleep is one of the most overlooked aspects of cancer care, yet poor sleep affects the majority of people living with cancer and can persist for years after treatment ends.
Dr. Sheila Garland, a professor of psychology and oncology at Memorial University, has spent the past decade focusing on addressing sleep disturbances in people living with and beyond cancer.
She’s recently been named a recipient of the Canadian Cancer Society’s William E. Rawls Prize, which recognizes outstanding contributions to cancer control research by early career investigators.
Dr. Garland says as many as six in 10 people diagnosed with cancer have trouble sleeping, a struggle that can impact their recovery and ongoing health.
“This is four-to-five times the rate of the general population, yet evidence-based treatments remain largely inaccessible and fewer than one in five cancer survivors currently receive treatment for insomnia,” she said.
Reaching survivors
Her work aims to change that reality through research, clinical trials and digital innovation.
That includes the creation of a free smartphone app, iCANSleep, designed to guide cancer survivors through personalized cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia.
She says cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia works, but most survivors never reach a specialist who can deliver it.
“My research is focused on closing that gap through digital delivery, reaching survivors in rural and remote communities, people who are immunocompromised and can’t travel, and those who simply cannot wait months for an appointment.”
She is currently conducting a clinical trial of the app, with funding from a Canadian Cancer Society Emerging Scholar Award in Cancer Survivorship.
“Fixing sleep isn’t a consolation prize at the end of cancer treatment. It’s a genuine pathway to recovery.”
Her research has already led to important advances in understanding the relationship between sleep and cancer outcomes.
“Sleep affects everything: mood, cognition, immune function and quality of life. Fixing sleep isn’t a consolation prize at the end of cancer treatment,” said Dr. Garland. “It’s a genuine pathway to recovery.”
Genuine affirmation
She says receiving the William E. Rawls Prize, and the $20,000 in funding that goes with it, is genuinely affirming, not just for her lab, but for the entire field of psychosocial oncology.
She also says it affirms that the mental and physical health of people living with and beyond cancer matters, and that the science of addressing it matters.
“For my team, it means we can continue developing and testing iCANSleep rigorously,” she said. “It also supports the graduate students and research staff who dedicate themselves to this work and it keeps us moving toward something that could realistically change how sleep care is delivered to cancer survivors across the country.”
Looking ahead, she says she is working towards an evidence-based future where treatment for sleep problems is available regardless of who you are or where you live.
“What I hope to see, ultimately, is a future where no cancer survivor has to lie awake night after night without access to effective help.”
