Effects of a Yoga Program on Mood States, Quality of Life, and Toxicity in Breast Cancer Patients Receiving Conventional Treatment: A Randomized Controlled Trial

The aim of this study is to compare the effects of yoga program with supportive therapy counseling on mood states, treatment-related symptoms, toxicity, and quality of life in Stage II and III breast cancer patients on conventional treatment. Ninety-eight Stage II and III breast cancer patients unde...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Indian journal of palliative care 2017-07, Vol.23 (3), p.237-246
Main Authors: Rao, Raghavendra Mohan, Raghuram, Nagaratna, Nagendra, Hongasandra Ramarao, Kodaganur, Gopinath S, Bilimagga, Ramesh S, Shashidhara, H P, Diwakar, Ravi B, Patil, Shekhar, Rao, Nalini
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alternative medicine
Anxiety
Breast cancer
Cancer therapies
Care and treatment
Chemotherapy
Clinical trials
Coping
Evidence-based medicine
Group therapy
Intervention
Mastectomy
Meditation
Morbidity
Oncology
Original
Patient outcomes
Psychological aspects
Quality of life
Respiration
Stress
Surgery
Womens health
Yoga
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The aim of this study is to compare the effects of yoga program with supportive therapy counseling on mood states, treatment-related symptoms, toxicity, and quality of life in Stage II and III breast cancer patients on conventional treatment. Ninety-eight Stage II and III breast cancer patients underwent surgery followed by adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) or chemotherapy (CT) or both at a cancer center were randomly assigned to receive yoga ( = 45) and supportive therapy counseling ( = 53) over a 24-week period. Intervention consisted of 60-min yoga sessions, daily while the control group was imparted supportive therapy during their hospital visits. Assessments included state-trait anxiety inventory, Beck's depression inventory, symptom checklist, common toxicity criteria, and functional living index-cancer. Assessments were done at baseline, after surgery, before, during, and after RT and six cycles of CT. Both groups had similar baseline scores. There were 29 dropouts 12 (yoga) and 17 (controls) following surgery. Sixty-nine participants contributed data to the current analysis (33 in yoga, and 36 in controls). An ANCOVA, adjusting for baseline differences, showed a significant decrease for the yoga intervention as compared to the control group during RT (first result) and CT (second result), in (i) anxiety state by 4.72 and 7.7 points, (ii) depression by 5.74 and 7.25 points, (iii) treatment-related symptoms by 2.34 and 2.97 points, (iv) severity of symptoms by 6.43 and 8.83 points, (v) distress by 7.19 and 13.11 points, and (vi) and improved overall quality of life by 23.9 and 31.2 points as compared to controls. Toxicity was significantly less in the yoga group ( = 0.01) during CT. The results suggest a possible use for yoga as a psychotherapeutic intervention in breast cancer patients undergoing conventional treatment.
ISSN:0973-1075
1998-3735
DOI:10.4103/IJPC.IJPC_92_17