Hi Highlandwoman, 

Oh poor you. It's not easy having to deal with a stage 4 ovarian cancer diagnosis and I hope that you recovered well from the surgery and that the chemotherapy treatment is not causing too many side effects. Getting through each day must be hard and it's often at night that our brain plays tricks on us and the insomnia sets in with the recurrent dark thoughts. With everything you've been through, you deserve a good night's sleep. 

This lack of sleep, the lying awake at night with these worries about dying is something that many other members of our forum are also experiencing and I hope you can comfort one another here on Cancer Chat at any time of day or night. There is useful information on our website on difficulty sleeping (insomnia) and cancer with tips to help you manage insomnia. For support and information, you can call the Cancer Research UK information nurses. They can give advice about who can help you and what kind of support is available on freephone: 0808 800 4040 - Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. 

I would also ring the GP to tell them how you are feeling at night and would tell the doctor about these thoughts and this fear which is preventing you from falling asleep. I am sure they will have some good advice and suggestions to help you drift off to sleep and stay asleep. Good sleep is very important  to help you get through the day and lack of sleep can interfere with everyday life so do talk to your doctor if you haven't done so already. It's totally understandable though given your situation that you are struggling to sleep; it can all feel deeply unfair but I know it's easier said than done, but don't focus on any prognosis you might have been given as this is often not very accurate and try if you can to take one day at a time and enjoy each day with your loved ones. Hopefully the chemotherapy will work its magic to keep the cancer at bay for as long as possible and I just wanted you to know we are there for you anytime you want to reach out to others who have had a similar diagnosis. 

Keep strong Highlandwoman, we are all here for you and I hope that you will soon talk to your GP and manage to sleep a bit better. 

Best wishes, 

Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator