Advertising supplement to Messenger Post Media for the week of October 4, 2015

Think pink.

MESSENGER POST MEDIA

October is

BREAST
CANCER

AWARENESS
Month

be, so its a downward

spiral. Yoga was a way of
interrupting that spiral
and getting women the
opportunity to learn a
new skill that was not too
physically demanding and
that helped the fatigue
substantially, she said.

ogas rejuvenating
and therapeutic
effects make it a
popular exercise
regime for millions of
people. For breast cancer
patients and survivors,
yoga not only helps control
physical functions like
breathing, heart rate and
blood pressure, it offers
some surprising benefits,
too.

Sleep issues are often

commonplace in breast
cancer
patients
and
survivors much more so
than their age mates in
the general population
who havent had cancer,
said Kiecolt-Glaser. Yoga
can help relieve the
insomnia caused by breast
cancer treatments and
medications.

Yoga can improve the

quality of life for breast
cancer patients in several
ways, said Dr. Janice
The surprising benefits of yoga for cancer patients, survivors
Kiecolt-Glaser,
director,
By Melissa Erickson | More Content Now
Institute for Behavioral
Medicine Research, Ohio
State University College
of Medicine. Kiecolt-Glaser
Stress reliever
was the lead author of a recent study that found that yoga can
For women with breast cancer undergoing radiation therapy,
lower fatigue and inflammation in breast cancer survivors. The
a mind-body approach to yoga offers health benefits beyond
women in the study were less fatigued than women not practicing
fighting fatigue, according to research from the University of Texas
yoga, and the more women in the study practiced yoga, the better
MD Anderson Cancer Center.
The fatigue is
their results.
Women who practiced yoga exercises that incorporated controlled
not like being
Fatigue is a really important quality of life marker for breast cancer
breathing, meditation and relaxation techniques into their
short of sleep
patients because it has such a pronounced effect on daily life.
treatment plan experienced improved ability to engage in daily
The fatigue is not like being short of sleep but rather the kind of
but rather the
activities, better general health and better regulation of the stress
fatigue that can permeate the day and the ability to do many daily
kind of fatigue
hormone cortisol. Women in the yoga group were also better
activities, Kiecolt-Glaser said.
that can
equipped to find meaning in the illness experience, which declined
permeate
over time for women in the other groups.
Fatigue fighter
Its estimated that perhaps 30 to 40 percent of longer-term breast
cancer survivors have debilitating fatigue after treatment, KiecoltGlaser said. Women stressed with fatigue are often so tired that
theyre less likely to exercise.
The less they exercise, the more tired and the weaker they may

the day and

the ability to do
many daily
activities

- Dr. Janice Kiecolt-Glaser

The transition from active therapy back to everyday life can be very
stressful as patients no longer receive the same level of medical
care and attention. Teaching patients a mind-body technique like
yoga as a coping skill can make the transition less difficult, said Dr.
Lorenzo Cohen, professor and director of the Integrative Medicine

. .. Think pink . . . . . .
Program at MD Anderson.
What was the important ingredient in
yoga that benefits breast cancer patients
and survivors?
Because yoga has several different
components breathing, meditative
and movement or postures we dont
know which of those was potentially
most important. We assume they were
all important or that one was more
important than the others, Kiecolt-Glaser
said.

Before you begin

Before starting any new workout
program, women should check with a
physician.
One of the nice things about yoga,
especially a restorative yoga like hatha
yoga training, is that it is relatively low
demand in terms of physical limitation,
Kiecolt-Glaser said. Check with the
teacher and ask what kind of class it is
and if back or other physical issues can
be addressed easily in class.

Advertising supplement to Messenger Post Media for the week of October 4, 2015 Page 2

Embrace Your Sisters,

founded in 2006, fills a
unique niche of Breast
Cancer services in the
Finger Lakes area. We
provide
emergency
financial assistance for
people going through
breast cancer treatment.
Even with health care, many
expenses are not covered. Help can be for mounting copays, travel expenses to get to treatment, mortgage/rent,
utilities etc. Our goal is to take some financial burden off
of the patient to allow them to focus on recovery.

. . . . . . Think pink...

We are an entirely volunteer

board with no paid staff,
dependent completely on
donations from the community.
All money raised, stays here in
the seven county Finger Lakes
area which includes Ontario,
Monroe, Livingston, Wayne,
Steuben and Yates. EYS holds
fundraising events throughout
the year which are posted on EmbraceYourSisters.org
and on our Facebook page. We appreciate each and
every person that volunteers and/or donates to us. Many
community groups hold fundraisers for us. You may also
donate on our website.

Men and breast cancer

Breast cancer in men is rare, but it does happen. In
2015, it is estimated that among men in the U.S. there
will be 2,350 new cases of invasive breast cancer,
says Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Survival rates for
men are about the same as for women with the same
stage of cancer at the time of diagnosis. However,
men are usually diagnosed at a later stage because they

are less likely to report symptoms. Treatment for men is

the same as treatment for women and usually includes
a combination of surgery, radiation, chemotherapy,
hormone therapy and/or targeted therapy. Learn more
about symptoms and treatment for breast cancer in men at
ww5.komen.org.