Cancer survivors may see surprising benefits from one specific exercise, study says

For many, surviving cancer comes with an automatic new lease on life but other survivors continue to experience physical and emotional challenges long after treatment ends.

Yoga may significantly reduce the insomnia, fatigue and mood disturbances many survivors endure after remission, a recent clinical trial found.

Mood disturbance and insomnia are “two of the most pervasive and troubling side effects experienced by cancer survivors for years after completing adjuvant treatments,” the researchers reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

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They noted that both symptoms can substantially inhibit survivors’ ability to perform everyday activities.

The study, funded by the National Cancer Institute, compared 204 cancer survivors receiving standard survivorship care alone with 206 survivors who paired standard care with the Yoga for Cancer Survivors (YOCAS) program. Most of the participants were female breast-cancer survivors.

YOCAS is a four-week intervention that incorporates two types of yoga – hatha, which is traditional and more active, and restorative, which is more passive. Both forms involve slow, gentle movements, breathing exercises and mindfulness, according to the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), which published a news release on the study’s findings.

Participants in the YOCAS group practiced yoga, on average, for 180 minutes each week over the course of three sessions.

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At the end of the trial, the YOCAS participants reported overall improvements to mood, anxiety and fatigue, while the standard care group did not.

“Additionally, improvements in insomnia stemming from YOCAS yoga may be mediated by changes in overall [mood disturbance] and fatigue,” the researchers wrote.

“[The study is] an important advance because it offers survivors, who are likely already managing multiple medications, a non-pharmaceutical solution for reducing four different side effects at once,” Fumiko Chino, MD, a cancer researcher and associate professor in breast radiation oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center, told ASCO.

Timothy Pearman, Ph.D., director of supportive oncology at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, told Fox News Digital he was not surprised by the results of the study.

“Yoga is one of the most widely studied and validated interventions for managing cancer-related fatigue, mood disturbance and overall physical health,” Pearman said.

Pearman said his wife, Jenny Finkel, is a yoga teacher and received her continuing education at Duke University’s integrative medicine program, which focuses on yoga for cancer patients. 

“There are now a number of cancer-specific yoga teacher training programs nationwide,” Pearman said. “Yoga is a wonderful thing because it is very modifiable, meaning that even for people who have significant physical impairment, the exercises can be modified so that anyone can participate.”

He added that yoga is affordable, too, because “all you need is a mat and someone to show you how to do it.”

Osteoporosis, an increased risk of cardiac problems and issues with balance and stamina are other physical symptoms related to cancer treatment that yoga can help mitigate, Pearman said.

Shari Botwin, a licensed clinical social worker based in Pennsylvania, is a thyroid-cancer survivor who specializes in working with victims of trauma, including cancer. She turned to yoga months after her diagnosis and told Fox News Digital the practice has been “transformative.”

According to Botwin, cancer survivors she’s worked with have dealt with emotional challenges that affect their healing process, including depression and survivor’s guilt. In addition to the physical relief yoga can provide, she said it can also offer “a supportive environment of peers, some of which are cancer thrivers.”

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Botwin added that yoga can help survivors who have lost parts of their body reframe their thinking.

“It supports us into moving into a place of self-compassion rather than shame and self-hatred,” she said.

Almost any type of exercise can be beneficial for cancer survivors, Pearman said. He advises his patients to stick to the type of exercise they enjoyed prior to cancer.

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He also noted that free yoga classes geared toward cancer survivors are widely available through various non-profit organizations.