How yoga helps cancer patients

Submitted by Denise Reynolds RD on Nov 2nd, 2009

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Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Memorial Sloan-Kettering, MC Anderson and other major cancer treatment centers offer yoga as complementary therapy for their cancer patients. Yoga uses breathing exercises, precise postures and meditation as non-aerobic exercise. Because it can lead to increased relaxation and physical fitness, yoga can enhance the quality of life for cancer patients and patients with other serious illnesses.

A 2007 study with breast cancer patients found that patients who did yoga improved their social and emotional wellbeing when compared to patients who didn’t do yoga. Most of the research involving yoga for cancer patients has focused on breast cancer, but more recent studies have begun involving patients with lung cancer and colorectal cancer. These studies have shown there to be a number of benefits associated with yoga.

Yoga can help cancer patients combat the side effects of treatment, such as fatigue and daytime sleepiness during a course of radiation therapy. Yoga can also help to relieve the anxiety brought on by a cancer diagnosis, as its deep breathing exercises can bring more oxygen into the body to help reduce anxiety.

In addition to anxiety relief, yoga can help reduce stress and cortisol levels. Yoga may also have beneficial effects on the immune system. Cancer patients can use yoga as a coping mechanism, part of their palliative care. Yoga can also decrease insomnia, improve symptoms of depression and relieve chronic pain. Additionally, yoga can provide gentle exercise for cancer patients at a time when they may not be able to participate in other forms of exercise. Two separate studies found that patients who exercised had reduced mortality and a reduced risk of cancer recurrence when compared to patients who didn’t exercise.

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