Yoga can benefit breast cancer patients by regulating stress hormones

Yoga – the 5,000-year-old Indian meditative practice – can benefit women who are undergoing treatment for breast cancer, as it regulates stress and fights fatigue, a new study has found.

For women with breast cancer undergoing radiation therapy, yoga offers unique benefits beyond fighting fatigue, researchers said.
The study by Lorenzo Cohen, from University of Texas M D Anderson Cancer Center is part of an effort to scientifically validate mind-body interventions in cancer patients.

Researchers found that while simple stretching exercises counteracted fatigue, patients who participated in yoga exercises that incorporated controlled breathing, meditation and relaxation techniques into their treatment plan experienced improved ability to engage in their daily activities, better general health and better regulation of cortisol (stress hormone).

Women in the yoga group were also better equipped to find meaning in the illness experience, which declined over time for the women in the other two groups.

The study also assessed, for the first time, yoga benefits in cancer patients by comparing their experience with patients in an active control group who integrated simple, generic stretching exercises into their lives.

“Combining mind and body practices that are part of yoga clearly have tremendous potential to help patients manage the psychosocial and physical difficulties associated with treatment and life after cancer, beyond the benefits of simple stretching,” said Cohen.

Participants in the yoga and stretching groups attended sessions specifically tailored to breast cancer patients for one-hour, three days a week throughout their six weeks of radiation treatment.
They were asked to report on their quality of life, including levels of fatigue and depression, their daily functioning and a measure assessing ability to find meaning in the illness experience.

Saliva samples were collected and electrocardiogram tests were administered.

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