title: Yoga therapy for breast cancer patients: a prospective cohort study.
abstract: We sought to study the impact of yoga therapy on anxiety, depression and physical health in breast cancer patients. Stage I-III post-operative breast cancer patients were recruited with twelve 1-h weekly yoga sessions completed with an experienced yoga instructor. Before and after each module completion, assessments were obtained with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression scale (HADS), the Dallas pain scale and shoulder flexibility measurements. Fourteen patients completed the entire yoga session with 42.8% having a total mastectomy and 15.4% having breast reconstruction. Both right and left shoulder abduction flexibility significantly improved (p = 0.004; p = 0.015 respectively) as well as left shoulder flexion (p = 0.046). An improvement trend in scores for the HADS and Dallas questionnaires pre- and post-intervention was found, although it was not statistically significant. Our data indicates an improvement in physical function in addition to a consistent amelioration in anxiety, depression and pain symptoms after a yoga intervention.
authors.affiliation: Division of General Surgery and the Cedars Breast Clinic, The McGill University Health Center, 687 Pine Avenue West, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1A1, Canada.
authors.forename: Monisha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sudarshan
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Petrucci
authors.forename: Sinziana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dumitra
authors.forename: Jodie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Duplisea
authors.forename: Sharon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wexler
authors.forename: Sarkis
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Meterissian
mesh_terms: D001007:Anxiety / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology / Q000601:surgery; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016462:Mammaplasty; D008408:Mastectomy; D019122:Meditation; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000209:etiology; D059408:Pain Management; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000628:therapy*; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D012782:Shoulder; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D015013:Yoga
keywords: Breast cancer; Complementary medicine; Integrative oncology; Yoga