Monthly Archives: September 2014

Cancer Care Tips

Three Tips Every Cancer Caregiver Should Know

Tips For Cancer Caregivers
Tips For Cancer Caregivers

It is rewarding but challenging to be a cancer caregiver. Use our tips to meet the challenge successfully:

1. Try to stay positive. Focus on positive and hopeful thoughts and try to keep your sense of humor. While this may be easier said than done, maintaining a positive attitude can help you and the patient cope with cancer’s ups and downs. Find friends, family, clergy and counselors you can turn to when you need an emotional boost.

2. Take care of yourself. Being a cancer caregiver can be physically and emotionally exhausting. In order to care for someone else, you must first take care of yourself. To stay healthy and reduce stress, try to get some exercise every day, eat well-balanced meals and get 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night. If you are a full-time caregiver, enlist the aid of family and friends so you can take periodic breaks to relax and recharge.

3. Ask for help. Don’t go it alone. Create a support system of people you can talk to about your concerns and feelings. Many caregivers find it helpful to share experiences and encouragement with other caregivers through online cancer caregiver support groups. Invite friends and family members to be part of the caregiving team and ask them to help out with specific tasks such as grocery shopping, driving to doctor visits, taking children to activities, visiting with the patient, dropping off a meal, etc. It can be helpful to keep a go-to list of people who have volunteered to help and the tasks they are able to help with to forestall last-minute emergencies.

Click here for more cancer caregiver tips.

Cancer Care Tips, Living with Cancer

Three Things to Know About Your Spouse’s Journey with Cancer

Getting Through Cancer
Getting Through Cancer

Cancer has been called a family disease because a cancer diagnosis affects not just the patient, but the entire family. If your spouse has been diagnosed with cancer, his or her journey with cancer will also have a profound effect on your own life and the lives of your children. As your spouse’s leading supporter and primary caregiver, your cancer journey will be different from your spouse’s but is likely to be equally challenging.

What You Should Know

Here are three things you should know as you and your spouse cope with cancer:

1. Keep communicating. Share with each other your feelings and fears about cancer. The more openly you and your spouse can discuss the challenges that occur during the cancer journey, the better you can support each other.

2. Respect your spouse’s decisions. Be an information gatherer and sounding board for your spouse, but respect his or her right to make treatment decisions. You can help your spouse by researching alternative cancer treatments, cancer vaccines and other treatment options and sharing that information with your spouse. Share your thoughts and discuss your fears, but respect your spouse’s right to determine the path of his/her cancer journey.

3. There is more to life than cancer. Life does not stop just because your spouse is diagnosed with cancer. When possible, continue your normal family routine. Make time to talk and cuddle as a couple. Continue to parent as a team. Ask friends and family for help when you need it, and join a cancer support community.

Visit our website to find out how Issels integrative immunotherapy has successfully impacted the cancer journey of many patients.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Immunotherapy, News

September Cancer News Roundup

Cancer News Round Up
Cancer News Round Up

Everyday, doctors and scientists uncover exciting breakthroughs and hopeful insights for improved cancer treatment. Here’s a look at some of the latest highlights of cancer news:

Integrative Methods Becoming Mainstream

Patients with advanced forms of cancer and those struggling with the side effects of traditional medicine treatments increasingly turn to integrative methods. CURE Magazine recently profiled the cases of patients who have received Eastern-style therapy and other complementary methods, pointing out the difference between unproven medical care and accepted forms of holistic cancer treatment.

Vitamin D Holds Promise for Skin Cancer

Research from the University of Connecticut suggests that vitamin D may hold the key to creating new drugs for skin cancer treatment.

Making Medicine from Bee Venom

Scientists separating the components of honeybee toxins believe that the proteins and peptides present in bee venom may be able to treat breast cancer cells.

Sigmoidoscopy Effective for Colon Cancer Screenings

The flexible sigmoidoscope, a shorter and thinner alternative to the colonoscope, has been found effective as a colorectal cancer screening tool by researchers in Norway. The device, which is thinner and shorter than the colonoscope, can help doctors detect polyps and remove them immediately with an instrument inside the scope.

Getting Creative with Fundraising

While the “ice bucket challenge” has brought the spotlight on ALS, many people have started getting creative with ways to raise money for cancer research. The Canadian Cancer Society’s “Fearless Challenge” has participants accepting dares and facing fears in exchange for contributions—one person promises to cover his body with tarantulas for $5,000 in donations, for example.

Do you have questions about something you’ve heard in the news? Get in touch with Issels to discuss the latest knowledge on cancer treatments available.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research

New Innovations in Cancer Care Are Changing Your Prognosis

Innovation In Cancer
Innovation In Cancer

Innovations are helping more people than ever survive cancer, while enjoying a better quality of life throughout treatment. Here are some positive developments that show how cancer prognoses improve a little every day:

Genetic studies

Researchers continue to discover genetic markers for certain forms of cancer, and establishing these links can lead to earlier detection and better prognoses.

Scientists in England recently found mutations in patients with Barrett’s esophagus (an acid reflux disease) who tend to develop esophageal cancer.

Therapy and rehabilitation

Traditionally, patients with cancer have received less encouragement to take on physical therapy and rehabilitation efforts, compared to patients with other diseases and ailments.

A program at the Community Medical Center in Montana has found that cancer rehab programs can improve quality of life, especially when instituted soon after the diagnosis. Alternative therapy for cancer can help improve mental and emotional conditions, while also helping some people live longer.

Less frequent or lower doses of treatments

People in stage four cancer treatment can enjoy effective treatment and an easier experience when receiving lower doses of certain medications, or less frequent treatments. Patients can more easily focus on holistic cancer treatment while taking less medication.

Among recent findings, women with breast cancer taking monthly doses of zoledronic acid can reduce complications by receiving treatment only once every three months after the first year. A study has found that people with HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer can use a lower dose of radiation than was previously believed necessary.

Breakthroughs, innovations, and new alternative cancer treatments continue to revolutionize patients’ outlook and quality of life. Talk with Issels Cancer Treatment Center for information about how our latest advances may help with your case.

Living with Cancer

Living with Cancer – Healthy Eating

Healthy Eating
Healthy Eating

Every time you pick up a magazine or tune in a talk show it seems like there’s some new diet trend your should be following to reduce your risk of developing cancer. Drink more coffee. Fill your plate with fresh fruits and vegetables. Sip green tea. Avoid grilled meats. Eat more fish. Have a glass of red wine with dinner. Nibble on dark chocolate. The list of cancer nutrition tips goes on and on.

Confusing Diet Advice

The list of healthy eating tips for preventing cancer seems to get longer every year. Trying to keep up with the types and quantities of food you should eat to keep various types of cancer at bay can be confusing and may seem contradictory. (Which is better, tea or coffee?) While eating to prevent cancer is a worthy goal, what should you eat to stay as healthy as possible if you already have cancer?

Diet Linked to Cancer

Researchers have found a strong link between diet and cancer that makes paying attention to what you eat important. In addition to maintaining a healthy weight and exercising regularly, eating a Mediterranean-style diet is generally recommended not only to help prevent cancer; but also to increase survival rates for people with cancer.

The Mediterranean Diet

Because certain foods can interfere with cancer treatments and medications, you should always follow the dietary recommendations of your cancer team. That said, the Mediterranean diet (click for diet details) benefits cancer patients by boosting the body’s immune system, aiding your natural ability to fight the recurrence or spread of cancer.

Contact Issels Integrative Oncology for more information about cancer treatment and recovery and diet.

Alternative Cancer Treatment

Issels – Why Mexico?

Innovation In Cancer
Innovation In Cancer

Every year, over one million Americans are diagnosed with cancer. Of those diagnosed, studies suggest 60 percent turn to alternative cancer therapy in conjunction with or in lieu of conventional treatment, discovering a large number of these alternative facilities are located outside of the country, such as Mexico.

Why not the U.S.?
In the past, many clinics outside the U.S. were not taken very seriously, however those times have drastically changed. Because conventional forms of cancer care such as surgery, chemo and radiation are the only forms of therapy covered by the U.S. healthcare system and insurance companies, many doctors choose to practice in Mexico in order to offer a broader array of treatments from around the world – and at a more affordable price. Over 500,000 estimated cancer patients leave the U.S. for treatment annually seeking these highly successful treatments.

Why seek alternative treatment?
Integrative approaches to cancer treatment provide individualized regimens tailored specifically for each individual. They focus on healing the entire body, with the added benefits of fewer side effects and improved quality of life when combined with conventional therapies such as chemotherapy and radiation. Natural cancer therapies are also sought, offering hope, when conventional treatments fail.

How accepted are the alternatives?
For over a decade, complementary and alternative cancer treatments have been gaining acceptance, resulting in the creation of such organizations as the National Cancer Institute’s Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). In fact, Cancer.gov, the National Cancer Institute’s website, acknowledges the evaluation of certain CAM therapies and their capability to help patients feel better and recover faster.

Looking for a safer, more effective cancer treatment option? Contact Issels today.