Abstract
Cancer survivorship is a challenging path involving symptoms that afflict both the physical and emotional aspects of life. Cancer survivors are increasingly adopting to newer tools that could be potentially beneficial in symptom relief. One such approach is yogic breathing, a set of breathing practices from the yoga tradition and can be a powerful tool to address both the mind and the body. Breathing regulation is a common technique in several cultures and practices and known to improve wellbeing. While mind-body practices are common among cancer patients, African American cancer patients have low accessibility to these tools although they are open to adopt these lifestyle practices. Our previous studies have shown salivary biomarker changes, and emotional improvement such as reduced stress in response to breathing exercises. We use these breathing exercises in a lodging facility (Hope Lodge) for cancer patients and caregivers during the treatment period. To improve the treatment delivery for remote learning in a culturally acceptable manner we are creating a web portal (named PRANA, meaning vital energy; and an acronym for Portal for Research, Analysis, and traiNing of breAthing) that will house several breathing exercises that would allow participants to choose depending upon their current state of mind and body. The Prana portal will be useful in delivering breathing exercises to patients from remote areas and places where yogic breathing is not provided commonly. We have created the alpha version of the animation characters, exercise scripts, and voiceover. Their cultural suitability is analyzed within the research group and by working with the Participant Engagement Groups (PEGS) through the South Carolina Clinical and Translational Research Institute. These animations will be constructed into a web portal for beta testing and will be available to present at this AACR meeting. Owing to the tailored nature of the practice, this tool will be acceptable by a large proportion of African American cancer survivors. Additionally, the portal would be a resource for researchers that are interested in studying individual breathing exercises.
Citation Format: Sundaravadivel Balasubramanian, Crystal Nixon, Katharine R. Sterba, Graham W. Warren. Development of PRANA: Portal for Research, Analysis and traiNing of breAthing [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 16th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2023 Sep 29-Oct 2;Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2023;32(12 Suppl):Abstract nr B146.
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