Yoga can give women with breast cancer a boost
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Special yoga classes can significantly improve the quality of life and well being of women with breast cancer patients -- particularly those who are not taking chemotherapy -- a new study shows.
A diverse group of low-income women participated in the study, Dr. Alyson B. Moadel of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York, noted in an interview with Reuters Health. "Our patients really enjoyed the yoga classes, it was very well received by them," she said. "It really fit in with their own cultural interests."
There is mounting evidence that yoga can improve quality of life in both healthy and chronically ill people, Moadel and her team point out in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, while quality of life may be particularly affected for cancer survivors who belong to ethnic minorities and other underserved minority populations.
To investigate whether yoga could help cancer patients and survivors feel better, the researchers randomly assigned 128 women to a 12-week yoga intervention or a wait list "control" group.
Classes were offered three times a week, and participants were urged to attend at least one class a week, and also instructed to do the exercises at home with the help of an audiotape. The Hatha yoga-based exercises had been developed especially for breast cancer patients by one of the study's authors, and were done while participants were either sitting in a chair or lying down.
During the course of the study, patients in the control group showed greater declines in well being than women in the yoga group. When the researchers omitted patients undergoing chemotherapy from their analysis, they found that the women who did yoga showed improvements in quality of life; greater emotional, social and spiritual well being; and less distress.
People often feel fatigued and sick while undergoing chemo, Moadel noted, which is likely why yoga didn't appear to be helpful for study participants on chemotherapy.
Just 69% of the women in the yoga group actually attended classes, and those who did attended an average of seven during the course of the study. Study participants had many demands to cope with, from medical and health issues to taking care of family members, Moadel noted, which may explain why many didn't make the classes.
Nevertheless, the women who did attend the classes enjoyed them, she added, and the more classes they attended, the more benefit they experienced.
Hospitals and cancer centers are increasingly offering yoga programs to cancer survivors, Moadel said, and interested people should contact local facilities or advocacy groups like the American Cancer Society to find out if there are yoga programs in their area. However, she cautioned that breast cancer survivors should talk with their doctor before starting an exercise program, and should only take classes specifically designed for them.
"I would not recommend a regular yoga class at a studio that is not geared or targeted to someone with cancer, particularly if they are undergoing treatment," Moadel said, noting that breast cancer patients frequently have arm and shoulder problems that could be aggravated by some exercises.
SOURCE: Journal of Clinical Oncology, October 1, 2007.
What breastcancer.org says about this article…
Yoga can give women with breast cancer a boost
The results of the study reviewed here, as well as a number of other small but important studies, show that yoga can boost a woman's quality of life while she's being treated for breast cancer. In this study, women who took yoga classes had better emotional, social, and spiritual well-being compared to women who didn't take yoga. Women who were not having chemotherapy got more benefits from yoga. This could be because fatigue and other chemotherapy side effects may make it harder to participate in yoga.
Maintaining balance in your life while dealing with breast cancer can be difficult. Complementary medicine, such as yoga, focuses on the interactions between your mind, your body, and your behavior. The goal of complementary medicine is to balance the whole person -- physically, mentally, and emotionally -- while conventional medicine does its work. While scientific research on most complementary medicine techniques is relatively new and the studies are small, early results have shown that some complementary medicine may help ease physical and emotional symptoms in some people. When combined with conventional medicine, complementary therapies may offer a more integrated approach to healing.
Yoga, which means "union," is a 5,000-year-old system of principles and practices originating in India. Yoga incorporates nutrition guidelines, ethics, exercise, and meditation with the intention of bringing together the mind, body, and spirit. One of the most frequently practiced types of yoga is hatha yoga, which uses physical poses and breathing techniques to increase strength, flexibility, and well-being. Hatha yoga was the kind of yoga used in this research study. All the poses could be performed by sitting in a chair or lying down.
If you're considering doing yoga to complement your breast cancer treatment plan, consider a class that is taught by an instructor familiar with the special needs of breast cancer patients. An experienced instructor can tailor poses to accommodate any physical limitations you might have because of your treatment. Some breast cancer patients can have arm and shoulder problems that could be aggravated by some yoga poses.
In the breastcancer.org Complementary Medicine section you can learn more, including:
- what to expect
- how to find a qualified practitioner
- important things to consider before trying a technique
And stay tuned to breastcancer.org to read about the latest scientific research on complementary medicine techniques.