Researcher at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have shown that breast cancer patients who practice yoga during treatment have better quality of life, compared to patients who do not. It is the first collaborative research effort representing the partnership between The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and India's largest yoga research institution, Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana (research foundation) in Bangalore, India.

Sixty-one women who were undergoing radiation treatment for breast cancer were randomized to participate in yoga classes twice weekly or as the control group, to be offered yoga post-treatment. The patients ranged from Stage 0 to Stage 3 disease; 48 percent had undergone breast-conserving surgery, and 75 percent had received chemotherapy prior to radiation treatment. The yoga program was designed specifically for this patient population - emphasizing breathing and relaxation, and excluding some positions, for example, that would be difficult, given the patients' possible weakened range of motion.

After just one week of yoga and radiation, the patients reported significantly increased physical function, as well as general health as compared to the control group. The study participants also reported marginally better social functioning, significantly lower levels of sleep-related daytime dysfunction, as well as marginally lower levels of fatigue overall.

However, no differences in the level of depression or anxiety were found between the two groups.

Another follow up study, funded by the National Cancer Institute, is underway at M. D. Anderson. It compares two groups of cancer patients receiving radiation - one doing Yoga with the other doing stretching exercises.

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