A study led by the University of Calgary found that mind-body exercises ease symptoms in people recovering from cancer.
Published Sept. 16, the study, conducted in collaboration with the University of Toronto and a Massachusetts-based non-profit academic healthcare centre, Mass General Brigham, examined more than 500 survivors of various cancer types and stages.
Patients situated across Canada participated in the several-month-long study by either choosing or being randomly assigned to one of two intervention styles: mindfulness-based cancer recovery (MBCR) or tai chi qigong.
Compared with the control group, made up of those on the waitlist, the study’s findings, outlined in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, show that participants experienced less pain, fatigue, and sleep problems after partaking in the interventions.
Linda Carlson, lead investigator of the study and professor at UCalgary’s Cumming School of Medicine oncology department, said that this study is the first of its kind to combine MBCR therapies with tai chi qigong movements.
As a PhD-level clinical psychologist, Carlson has been researching different types of interventions for people with cancer for more than 25 years. She said she “wasn’t super surprised” by the study’s results.
“We’re looking at the symptoms of pain, fatigue, and difficulty sleeping, and they kind of co-occur,” said Carlson.
“So, it makes sense that if you’re in pain, it might be harder to sleep, and if you can’t sleep, then you’re tired and fatigued, so it’s sort of this downward spiral, often for people with these symptoms.”
Researching two interventions for one cause
Carlson’s team published the inaugural research on mindfulness in 2000, which involves breathing, gentle stretching, and group discussions that work together to help patients manage the various stages of their illness and treatment.
Meanwhile, she said her colleagues at Harvard have researched tai chi qigong — an ancient Chinese mind-body practice that integrates slow physical movements and breathwork to help patients regulate their emotions by bringing attention to body sensations.
Carlson said teaming up to examine the styles side-by-side offered many benefits.
“It’s really important that they have choice and they have access to the kind of program that can help treat all these symptoms and side effects that can really interfere with their quality of life,” she said.
“They have options of different approaches that are sort of medication-free too, which is important to many people.”
Carlson said the study not only pioneered a combined look at therapies for people recovering from cancer, but also did so on a large scale. She said the demand showed that people want more care options outside of traditional procedures.
“People are really looking for alternatives other than medications to help with things like pain and sleep and fatigue,” said Carlson.
“What’s also unique about this study [was] not only the size, it’s also the breadth of participants…we had people with every kind of cancer you could imagine.”
These interventions are already intertwined in current clinical practices, she said, especially for cancer patients encountering a decline in their mental health. However, Carlson said that these options are not available to everyone, and recommended future steps.
“The issue is that not everybody has access to them,” she said.
“So, just making these more widely available by having programs in cancer centres, by training facilitators to deliver them — making them barrier-free and no expense and accessible to people.”
‘It really changed my life,’ says study participant
Jane Burns, 62, participated in the study after being diagnosed with a rare and incurable blood cancer called myeloproliferative neoplasm during the pandemic. She described the chronic pain that this has had on her as including bone aches, itching, and extreme exhaustion.
“I also fell into a bit of a sedentary state,” said Burns.
“I had been diagnosed, and I was ill, and I couldn’t find a way to get my physical stamina back at all.”
This brought her to sign up for breathwork courses offered online by Wellspring Alberta. After seeing some success, Burns heard about the mindfulness and tai chi qigong study and decided to pursue that as well.
As someone who used to be fairly athletic, she said it’s unlikely she will feel 100 per cent better again, but the program took her from zero to 60 per cent, which Burns said has made a world of difference for her.
“I became very confident in myself again, in my ability to move, to stand, to actually feel like I was living again,” she said.
“It really got me back to a place of ‘I can do things again,’ and that means a lot for a cancer patient, and especially with people with chronic cancer who know that they have to find a way to function and manage in life for a very long time.”
The option to conduct the study remotely made the program accessible to Burns, who lives in Sylvan Lake, Alta. She said doing the exercises from home helped her feel less self-conscious and gave her the opportunity to refer back to the same online videos years later.
Burns said she would recommend the interventions to anyone in a similar position.
“It is such a positive and healing experience,” she said.
“There are many cancer patients in my support group, and I always use me as an example and say, ‘If I can do it, you definitely must.’”
Copyright 2026, LiveWire Calgary. All rights reserved.
Sarah Palmer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, LiveWire Calgary.