Supportive Wellbeing Practices During Care: An Ayurvedic Lens on Cancer

Deep-research article applying an Ayurvedic lens — labeled traditional education only — to cancer, asking what human studies show about supportive wellbeing practices during care. In American Cancer Society Cancer Statistics 2024 (Siegel et al., PMID 38230766; incidence through 2020, mortality through 2021), 2,001,140 new cancer cases and 611,720 deaths are projected in the United States in 2024, and compared with White people, mortality rates are two-fold higher for prostate, stomach, and uterine corpus cancers in Black people. A Cochrane review of 24 randomized trials in 2,166 women with breast cancer found moderate-quality evidence that yoga vs. no therapy was associated with improved quality of life (SMD 0.22) and lower fatigue (SMD -0.48) and sleep-disturbance (SMD -0.25) scores short term (Cramer 2017, PMID 28045199). An 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction RCT in 172 women with early-stage breast cancer improved quality-of-life and coping outcomes vs. nutrition education and usual care (Henderson 2012, PMID 21901389). A 2025 umbrella review of 134 trials in 9,469 patients rated only yoga and depression scores as convincing, the rest weak (Wen 2025, PMID 40090889). No supplement treats cancer and none is recommended; cancer is clinician-first. Evidence grade: MODERATE for the supportive-care conclusion; TRADITIONAL-ONLY for the Ayurvedic framing. Educational article from the Buddha Ayurvedic School of Medicine: https://buddha.hospital