It is estimated that around 30% of women who have cancer diagnosis will experience medical menopause. Cancer treatment can trigger sudden, medically-induced menopause and fertility loss often with intense physical, emotional, and psychological effects. Yet many yoga teachers feel unsure how to support students navigating these changes.

When someone is facing a serious illness such as cancer, which for many people brings up feelings of fear around it being a life and death matter, being concerned about your body image may be considered frivolous, unnecessarily vain or not relevant. Patients can be told just to be grateful they are alive and not to be worried about other issues.

Far from being vain or shallow however, this whole area of body image comes down to four important core issues that are really important for everyone and no less important for cancer patients.