Houston breast cancer survivor Teresita Ladrillo was feeling the usual side-effects of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation when she elected to try a different kind of pick-me-up: yoga.

Enrolled twice weekly in a class offered at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Ladrillo performed exercises aimed at calming tension and recovering lost mobility, problems stemming from her treatment.

"It proved very helpful," says Ladrillo, 52, a dentist from the Philippines now preparing to take U.S. licensing exams. "Learning to breathe deeply and slowly gave me relief when I would get tense and some of the poses gave me back the elasticity and flexibility that radiation takes away."

The classes are part of M.D. Anderson's efforts to incorporate yoga into treatment plans for cancer patients. On Sunday, center researchers reported the ancient discipline can help cancer patients function better physically and feel better about their health.

There's more at the Houston Chronicle. For more information on the Complementary/Integrative Medicine Program see http://www.mdanderson.org/departments/cimer/.

Related:
M. D. Anderson Announces Collaboration with India's Largest Yoga Research Institution to Gain Scientific Evidence of Yoga Benefit to Cancer Patients
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Large National Cancer Institute Grant Will Test the Effect of Tibetan Yoga on Women with Breast Cancer
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