Striking Results Study Yoga for Women with Breast Cancer

The Louis Bolk Institute completed the first Dutch scientific study on the effects of yoga on fatigue and quality of life for women with breast cancer. The results of this study show that doing yoga during chemotherapy does not really have an effect on fatigue, but has a positive effect on other areas.

Less Nauseous

For example, women in the yoga group were less nauseous and less likely to surrender. They also suffered less from depressive feelings and more of these women returned to work within six months. Despite the limited number of participants in this study, sufficient reason for follow-up! The study was funded by Pink Ribbon

10 years after treatment

Women are increasingly surmounting breast cancer. This is due, among other things, to early diagnoses and better treatments. Unfortunately, breast cancer treatment can have long-term consequences for so-called survivors. For example, many women suffer from fatigue due to chemotherapy that can last up to 10 years after treatment

Fatigue affects daily activities, social relationships and work functioning and is therefore a major obstacle to life of these women. The study was initiated because it appears that sport can reduce fatigue during chemotherapy. However, many women are just too tired to exercise. Yoga could therefore offer a good alternative. CLYMS has developed a program for this purpose, the stress reduction program based on yoga. Quieter movements are used, it provides stronger, more flexible muscles and provides a physical and moral rest.

This study covers a total of 83 women from three different hospitals (St. Jansdal Hospital in Harderwijk, Flevo Hospital in Almere and Alexander Monro Hospital in Bilthoven). They all had stage I-III breast cancer and were randomly divided into two groups. the first group was treated according to the guidelines of the hospital, the second group took a yoga class once a week. In addition, they were advised to do at least 5 minutes of breathing and relaxation exercises a day at home. The yoga classes were taught by CLYMS in Harderwijk. Yoga classes started one or two weeks before chemotherapy and lasted 12 weeks in total. Questionnaires were drawn up in both groups on the degree of fatigue at the beginning of the study and its evolution over six months. In addition to fatigue, this study also focused on quality of life, fears and depression, and, for example, return to work

Less Anxiety and Panic

The results of this study show that doing yoga during chemotherapy has a positive effect on nausea and vomiting. Yoga also gave participants a taste for less depressive feelings. An important finding is that women who took these yoga classes more often than women in the control group returned to work within six months. In general, women simply felt better through yoga. For example, one woman reported that she felt less anxious and panicky and another said, "I feel calm during the yoga class." Of course, the yoga class also had the advantage that women came into contact with other women who had the same experience

. The results are encouraging, but not yet decisive. This is mainly due to the fact that the study was conducted with a relatively small group of women. Despite the relatively small size of the study, there are many starting points for further research. For example, practical research on implementing yoga for women with breast cancer in or around hospitals can provide relevant information to other hospitals that wish to offer yoga. Information about the yoga program can be obtained from CLYMS. For more information on research, please contact the Louis Bolk Institute. The scientific article is available via the link below.

CLYMS and LBI are very grateful to the participating women for their participation and commitment.

http://www.louisbolk.org/downloads/3371.pdf

[1965 Source: Louis Bolk Institute