Carson, J. W., Carson, K. M., Porter, L. S., Keefe, F. J., Shaw, H., & Miller, J. M. (2007). Yoga for women with metastatic breast cancer: results from a pilot study. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 33, 331–341.

The Yoga of Awareness Program included eight weekly, 120-minute, sessions, including gentle yoga postures, breathing exercises, meditation, didactic presentations, and group interchange. Patients were also encouraged to practice at home.

• The sample was comprised of 13 women with metastatic breast cancer.
• Mean age was 59 years (range 44–75).
• Eleven of 13 patients were Caucasian.

Duke Pain Prevention Program and Treatment Program Office

The study used an exploratory, pre-/post design; no control group was used.

• Brief daily diary using a visual analog scale (VAS) during two pre- weeks and the last two intervention weeks
• Focus group feedback

Those who withdrew had lower fatigue, which was interpreted as less motivation to participate. No significant change occurred in fatigue intercept (slope was not reported). There was a trend in which increased yoga practice was associated with decreased fatigue (p = 0.07). Lagged analysis showed that increased practice was predictive of decreased fatigue the next day. Participants reported that the program was successful to manage fatigue (mean = 7.6).

• The study lacked a control group.
• The study had a small sample size.
• Single-item daily measures were used.
• There was 28% attrition:  3 preintervention and 5 during the intervention.

No adverse events were reported. The intervention was led by a certified yoga instructor.