NEW DELHI, INDIA, July 10, 2006: Suggestions that the ancient Indian practice of yoga can favorably impact the health of cancer patients has taken a new direction with a recent collaboration between Indian and American cancer research foundations. Houston-based University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center recently announced a research collaboration with India’s Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana (Research Foundation), based in Bangalore, to build on a cross-cultural relationship to understand how aspects of yoga practice can help cancer patients. Dr. Kavita Chandwani, senior research coordinator on the yoga-cancer research program at M.D. Anderson, says their research is to understand what effects yoga creates in the human body. She adds that the relaxation techniques generally show people to be happier – something that may actually be largely responsible for keeping disease at bay.
“How does yoga work for cancer? When a person is stressed, the immune system is suppressed; when that stress is removed, patients have a healthier immune system,” says, Dr. H.R. Nagendra, vice chancellor of SVYAS. The center offered relaxation techniques, including meditation and slow breathing, to eight terminally ill cancer patients. On the 15th day, one of the breast cancer patients wanted to return to work while, one by one all of them started going back to work within two, three weeks,’ said Nagendra. “All of the patients lived, and one of the bone cancer patients died three years back, at the age of 77.” “Cancer and its treatments are associated with considerable distress, impaired quality of life and reduced physical function. This is particularly true for women with breast cancer who receive multi-modality treatment over an extended period of time,” said Dr. Lorenzo Cohen, director of the Integrative Medicine Program at M.D. Anderson. “With our studies, we think that we could help ameliorate the treatment-related side effects that accumulate in cancer patients over time.” In a 2004 a study at M.D. Anderson focused on breast cancer patients, showed improvement in physical and general health functions, and even marginal improvement in fatigue levels, said Chandwani.