The Effect of Mindful Yoga on Fatigue in Women with Breast Cancer: A Quasi-experimental Study

Abstract

Background: Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) has a significant negative impact on the quality of life of affected patients. Objectives: This study aimed to examine the effect of mindful yoga on fatigue in women with breast cancer. Methods: This quasi-experimental study employed a pre-test and post-test design with a control group. The research population included all women with breast cancer who visited the cancer care department of the Mehr Cancer Patient Support Center in Shahin Shahr for periodic care in 2023. A total of 40 eligible participants were selected through convenience sampling and allocated into two groups — intervention and control (20 participants each) — via permuted block randomization. The intervention group received mindful yoga sessions weekly for 16 weeks. Data were collected using the Cancer Fatigue Scale and analyzed using SPSS-22 software with multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA). Results: The average age of participants was 47.23 ± 6.07 years. Over 80% of patients in both groups were diagnosed with stage 2 cancer. Post-intervention, the intervention group showed significant reductions in physical, affective, and cognitive cancer fatigue scores compared to pre-intervention scores (P < 0.001). These changes were not observed in the patients in the control group. Conclusions: The data in this study suggest that the mindful yoga intervention had a positive effect on reducing cancer fatigue in women with breast cancer. Emerging non-pharmacological and supportive interventions, such as mindful yoga, can serve as complementary therapies to help these patients and improve their quality of life and psychological well-being.