Yoga works wonders for women with breast cancer

For women with breast cancer undergoing radiation therapy, yoga offers unique benefits beyond fighting fatigue, according to new research.

While simple stretching exercises improved fatigue, patients who practiced yogic breathing, postures, meditation and relaxation techniques as part of their treatment plan experienced improved physical functioning, better general health and lower stress hormone levels.

They also were better able to find meaning in their cancer experience, the study done at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has found. The research was conducted in collaboration with Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana ( SVYAS) in Bangalore.

Patients from different hospitals including the Bangalore Institute of Oncology come to the institute, said N V Raghuram of SVYAS. The study assessed yoga's benefits to cancer patients, compared with a control group. "The combination of mind and body practices that are part of yoga clearly have tremendous potential to help patients manage the psychosocial and physical distress associated with treatment and life after cancer, beyond the benefits of simple stretching," said Cohen.

During the study, at one, three and six months after radiation therapy, women who practiced yoga during the treatment period reported greater benefits. Women who practiced yoga also had the steepest decline in their cortisol ( stress hormone) across the day, indicating that yoga had the ability to regulate this stress hormone. Cancer is a fight within the cells of the body and the yogic method reduces the restlessness that results from it, Raghuram explained.