The three symptoms while you sleep that could warn of cancer
Sleep disorders are becoming increasingly common in Spain, largely due to a fast-paced lifestyle , anxiety, stress, and a host of other problems that surface when night falls. While it's true that hormonal changes, especially in women and after menopause, interfere with proper rest , the UK-based Blood Cancer organization warns of three sleep problems that could be telling us something else.
Of course, the idea isn't to worry excessively, but simply that if we notice any of these warning symptoms, we should consult our doctor simply to rule out more serious conditions. Changes in sleep patterns are quite common and, in the vast majority of cases, are due to causes much less serious than blood cancer, but it's important not to ignore these three warnings from the body, according to experts.
People with cancer have difficulty sleepingBlood Cancer UK has identified three important signs to look out for, which can occur during nighttime rest hours and which could be linked to one of the three most prevalent types of blood cancer : leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma.
According to specialists, people with blood cancer often have difficulty falling or staying asleep, sleep at unusual hours, or experience changes in their sleep patterns. This could be directly related to symptoms caused by the cancer, such as pain or shortness of breath.
On its website, this British organization states that "there are many causes of sleep problems, but the most common include the impact on overall emotional well-being and the disruption of hospital stays." These disorders can also occur while undergoing treatment, as the anxiety generated by the disease seriously affects nighttime rest.
Leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma, three types of blood cancer
Both leukemia and Lymphoma and myeloma are the three most common types of blood cancer worldwide, and knowing the symptoms to identify them early is essential, according to the medical community. Depending on the cells affected, more than 100 hematological malignancies can arise, according to medical textbooks.
Among the most prevalent types, leukemia is caused by an indiscriminate increase in the number of blood and/or bone marrow cells . In lymphoma, this uncontrolled proliferation occurs in the lymph nodes, and in multiple myeloma, it occurs in the antibody-producing plasma cells in the bone marrow.
The symptoms of leukemia vary depending on the type, of which there are many and diverse. The most common are extreme fatigue, loss of appetite and weight loss, fever , night sweats, dizziness, lightheadedness, difficulty breathing, and easy bruising.
Lymphoma often involves enlargement of one or more lymph nodes , accompanied by night sweats, increased body temperature at night (up to 38º), weight loss, chills, fatigue, cough, itching, headaches, etc. Myeloma is more complicated to diagnose because its symptoms are very similar to other ailments: frequent urination, thirst, dehydration, kidney problems, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, bone pain, and recurrent fractures.
The three common nighttime symptoms of blood cancer
Blood Cancer UK summarizes three nighttime symptoms that repeat in the patterns of the three most common types of blood cancer. Although cancer presents many different side effects, the ones that most affect sleep deprivation are pain, nausea, bowel problems, peripheral neuropathy , anxiety, and hormonal changes.
Blood cancer, regardless of the type and in general terms, can cause intense night sweats that force us to get out of bed. It can also cause the feeling that, even after sleeping for a long time, we wake up feeling exhausted and fatigued, and carry that feeling with us all day. Difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep is the third symptom to look out for. In general, it involves disruptions to normal sleep patterns that cannot be attributed to a specific event.
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