Breast cancer patients who do yoga have better quality of life, study finds

Breast cancer patients who practice yoga experience a better quality of life, lower stress hormone levels and reduced fatigue, a new study says.

"Yoga is having an impact on subjective well-being, as well as better regulation of cortisol, a stress hormone," said study co-author Lorenzo Cohen, according to a HealthDay report. "Better regulation of stress hormones has been linked with better survival and longer survival."

The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, had 160 women with breast cancer undergoing radiation therapy do yoga or stretch for an hour up to three times a week and a control group who did not.

The women reported their quality of life, including their fatigue or depression levels, and described their daily functioning. Cortisol levels were measured at the start of treatment, and at one, three and six months after treatment using saliva samples.

Women who did yoga had the greatest drop of cortisol levels, meaning it helped regulate their stress hormones. And after radiation treatment, which is shown to cause fatigue, those who did yoga or stretching weren't as tired as the women who didn't.

Dr. Joanne Mortimer, director of women's cancer programs and co-director of the breast cancer program at City of Hope Cancer Center in Duarte, Calif., added that women undergoing cancer treatment who exercise more feel less tired and have an overall better well-being, according to past studies.

"This study supports that the more you do, the better off you are," Mortimer explained.

Cohen agrees.

"I think it's important for breast cancer patients to engage in some sort of activity to buffer [dealing with the disease]."

Yoga, Cohen adds, is a way for patients to engage in physical activity while relaxing their body and their mind. He recommends cancer patients ask their doctor if yoga is safe for them, and possibly find a class that includes other cancer patients.