Years later, stress training pays off for cancer patients

By Kathryn Doyle (Reuters Health) – - Eleven years later, women who took a stress management course after being diagnosed with breast cancer were still reaping the benefits of the training. Depression is common during cancer treatment and afterward, said senior author Michael H. Antoni of the University of Miami, in Coral Gables, Florida. Cognitive behavioral stress management techniques “such as progressive muscle relaxation and deep breathing techniques along with strategies for changing self-defeating and irrational thoughts about life stressors, a procedure called ‘cognitive restructuring,’ can be learned and applied to daily life and breast cancer specific stressors” Antoni told Reuters Health by email. These techniques "have been shown to improve regulation of the adrenal stress hormone cortisol in women under treatment for breast cancer," he added. March 23, 2015 at 04:56PM

via Lazahealth.org