Persistent adverse effects of cancer treatments on mental health, fatigue, and sleep disturbances in breast cancer survivors

Q: What was the study’s main focus?

The study examined persistent adverse effects of cancer treatments on mental health, fatigue, and sleep disturbances in breast cancer survivors.

Q: What did the results show about mental health and sleep?

Survivors reported significantly higher stress, depression, state and trait anxiety, fatigue, and poorer sleep quality compared with noncancer controls, while physical activity levels did not differ between groups.

Sep 23, 2026

Uploaded by Riley West

Breast cancer is the most diagnosed cancer worldwide and commonly leads to long-lasting psychological burdens. Cancer treatments, especially chemotherapy, can worsen stress, anxiety, depression, fatigue, and sleep quality. This study assessed long-term psychological effects among breast cancer survivors and examined relationships among mental health, fatigue, sleep disturbances, and physical activity using online measures.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages11

Reading Time28 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Introduction

Bradley-Garcia et al. BMC Women's Health (2026) 26:154 BMC Women's Health [https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-026-04325-1](https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-026-04325-1) RESEARCH Open Access Persistent adverse effects of cancer treatments on mental health, fatigue, and sleep disturbances in breast cancer survivors Meenakshie Bradley-Garcia1, Annick F. N. Tanguay 1 and Melanie J. Sekeres 1* Abstract Background Breast cancer is the most diagnosed cancer worldwide, affecting one in four women diagnosed with cancer. Cancer treatments, particularly chemotherapy, can adversely impact mental health, contributing to increased stress, anxiety, depression, fatigue, and poor sleep quality. This study investigated the long-term psychological effects of cancer treatment among breast cancer survivors and explored interactions between these factors. Methods We recruited Canadian women aged 30 to 65 with a history of breast cancer who were at least 6-months post-treatment (n = 49) and age-matched control participants (n = 44) . Participants provided demographic and health information and completed online questionnaires assessing stress, depression, trait and state anxiety, fatigue, sleep quality, and physical activity. Results Breast cancer survivors reported significantly higher levels of stress (p = . 004), depression (p < . 001), state anxiety (p = . 003), trait anxiety (p = . 02), fatigue (p < . 001), as well as poorer sleep quality (p < . 001) compared to noncancer controls. Physical activity levels and leisure-time exercise did not differ between groups (p = .13 and p = . 17, respectively) . While physical activity was not significantly correlated with mental health factors in either group (p’s > 0. 05), most mental health factors were correlated with each other in both groups (p’s < 0. 05) . Conclusion Our findings enhance understanding of the long-term mental health effects of cancer treatment in breast cancer survivors, providing strong evidence that breast cancer survivors continue to experience significant psychological challenges – including stress, anxiety, depression, fatigue, and sleep disturbances. Given these persistent challenges, it is critical to incorporate comprehensive mental health assessments into cancer survivorship plans to identify psychological concerns and inform treatment strategies that address the interconnectedness of these issues. Keywords Breast cancer, Depression, Anxiety, Fatigue, Sleep disturbances, Exercise, Stress, Post-treatment, Chemotherapy, Survivorship *Correspondence: Melanie J. Sekeres [msekeres@uottawa.ca](msekeres@uottawa.ca) 1School of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada © The Author(s) 2026. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if you modified the licensed material. You do not have permission under this licence to share adapted material derived from this article or parts of it. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit [http://creati](http://creati)[vecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/](vecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.)[.](vecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.) Bradley-Garcia et al. BMC Women's Health (2026) 26:154 Introduction Breast cancer is the most diagnosed cancer among women worldwide, a

FAQs

What was the study’s main focus?

The study examined persistent adverse effects of cancer treatments on mental health, fatigue, and sleep disturbances in breast cancer survivors.

Who participated and when were they assessed?

Canadian women aged 30 to 65 with a history of breast cancer were recruited at least 6 months after treatment (n=49), along with age-matched controls (n=44).

What did the results show about mental health and sleep?

Survivors reported significantly higher stress, depression, state and trait anxiety, fatigue, and poorer sleep quality compared with noncancer controls, while physical activity levels did not differ between groups.

Sep 23, 2026

Uploaded by Riley West