Yoga Provides Benefits To Women With Breast Cancer, Study Concludes
A pilot study published in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management suggests that by reducing pain and fatigue and raising their spirits, specifically tailored yoga programs may help women with late-stage breast cancer.
“The benefits could include less pain and fatigue, and more vigor, relaxation, and acceptance,” said study leader Dr. James W. Carson of the Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C.
The study involved 13 women with breast cancer that had spread to other parts of their bodies with the age average of participants being 59 years, and the average time of diagnosis being seven years previous to the study and tested the effects that a specifically tailored yoga program would have on these women
Over an eight week period, the women attended a yoga class which included breathing, mediation and gentle yoga postures, as prescribed by the “Yoga of Awareness” program, which is specifically designed to help with emotional distress once a week. According to the researchers, the yoga exercises demonstrated immediate benefits in “significantly boosting daily invigoration and a sense of acceptance”. Relaxation was improved and pain relief was evident as well.
“Greater practice on a given day was associated with improvements not only on the same day, but the next day as well,” the researchers wrote. The new study “provides some of the first, tentative evidence for yoga’s potential benefits in this vulnerable population of women with limited life expectancy,” they concluded.
In women across the world, breast cancer is the most common cancer, taking the most amounts of lives among them as well. In women who reach the age of 90, roughly 25% will suffer from this form of cancer at some point in their lives.
Aside from that, other parts of the body can be affected by breast cancer as it spreads through the lymph nodes under the arms or through blood vessels, most commonly to the bones. Once it spreads to the bones, the cancer is then considered incurable by conventional oncologists. Treatment however, may prolong the life of a patient for several years.
Frank Mangano’s Commentary:
While the best form of treatment is a preventative approach through getting sufficient exercise and eating the right foods, it’s nice to know that in cases where cancer is evident, there are more alternative treatments available now then ever as demonstrated in this study. Yoga has been a favorite from of exercise for me for some time.
There are many different forms of yoga to enjoy. Read the following article to learn more about specific types of yoga and the benefits associated with each form:
Yoga: Spiritual and Physical Exercises That Promote Health and Well-Being
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Posted: October 17th, 2007 under Breast Cancer, Cancer, Yoga.
