The diagnosis and treatment of cancer can take a significant toll on patients, as well as their caregivers. Recognizing these challenges, UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center developed its Comprehensive Cancer Support Program (CCSP) in 2009 to help patients, caregivers and families during the cancer journey, from treatment to survivorship.
This includes offering services to minimize challenges cancer patients may face, including changing nutritional needs, mental health and emotional support, financial and legal matters, and integrative lifestyle assistance, including exercise.
Making mindfulness more accessible
CCSP’s Integrative Medicine offerings, which provide holistic, lifestyle-centered support – include yoga and meditation classes.
Starting last summer, these services were made available on-demand, thanks to the addition of CCSP’s online yoga and meditation library, giving greater accessibility to patients and caregivers to take part in these resources.
“Our on-demand yoga library came out of a need for people who maybe weren’t feeling well enough to attend class regularly, or who just weren’t quite ready to join an in-person class,” said Carly Bailey, MA, ACSM-CEP; NBC-HWC.
Bailey serves as the program director of physical activity and integrative oncology at UNC Lineberger and oversees the exercise programs made available through CCSP, including yoga and Get Real & Heel. “It’s a resource that’s available to anybody who wants to explore the benefits of yoga, but for some reason, an in-person class isn’t an option for them at that moment,” Bailey said.
Those interested in attending live yoga classes have the option of joining Zoom-led sessions held four times a week, or an in-person class held once a week at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Chapel Hill.
More information about the CCSP, the live and on-demand yoga program and other services is available on its website. Bailey can also be reached by email, (carly_bailey@med.unc.edu), for questions related to on-demand or in-person yoga.
Benefits of yoga
Yoga offers a wide range of physical and emotional benefits for those facing a cancer diagnosis, as well as the caregivers supporting them. This includes stress reduction, better fatigue management and improved physical function.
“Yoga, in particular, is a great low-impact exercise to help improve strength and stability in the body, while the breath work piece of it is really important for promoting relaxation,” Bailey said. “There are data that show that yoga can improve sleep and help combat a lot of the fatigue that commonly coincides with a cancer diagnosis and conventional treatment.
“I think the big thing when we think about movement and cancer is how any boost in energy levels, physical function or mental health can really make a difference in how people feel during this journey,” Bailey said.