Monthly Archives: March 2023

Immunotherapy, Uncategorized

Use Your Body to Fight Cancer

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Conventional cancer treatment, such as chemotherapy and radiation, focuses on using external methods of destroying cancer cells. Immunotherapy focuses on using your body’s own defenses to fight cancer. Issels® Immunotherapy offers several cancer vaccines that are non-toxic and do not cause adverse effects, including the following.

Prostate Cancer Vaccine

This cancer vaccine helps the immune system find and destroy cancerous cells in the prostate. Prostate cancer vaccines contain monocytes, cytokines, and other elements of the patient’s immune system, which helps provide a more targeted immune response.

Autologous Dendritic Cell Cancer Vaccine

This cancer vaccine involves the use of dendritic cells, which play an important role in the immune system. These cells have a strong potential to trigger an immune response that effectively destroys tumors. This cancer vaccine contains tumor antigens, cytokines, and other elements of the patient’s immune system.

Coley’s Mixed Bacterial Vaccine

This cancer vaccine helps the patient’s body produce interleukins, interferons, and other parts of the immune system that are needed to fight disease.

Lymphokine-Activated Killer Cells

This cancer vaccine contains LAK cells and interleukin-2 that help the patient’s body fight cancer.

Activated Natural Killer Cells

This cancer vaccine contains NK cells and interleukin-2 to help the immune system fight cancer.

Uses for Cancer Vaccines

Cancer vaccines can be used for a wide range of cancer types, including cancers that are typically difficult to treat using conventional methods. Since they use the patient’s immune system to fight cancer, they don’t come with a risk of side effects or adverse reactions as other cancer treatments do. Cancer vaccines are an important part of immunotherapy and provide a highly personalized approach to fighting cancer.

To learn more about immunotherapy as cancer treatment, please contact Issels®. We can give you more detailed information on cancer vaccines and other therapies.

Living with Cancer, Uncategorized

Good Nutrition Increases Quality of Life During Treatment

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Getting the right vitamins and minerals from the food you eat is so important as a cancer patient. However, many people don’t realize that nutrition is seriously affected by both cancer and the treatments used for it. Here at Issels®, we care about more than just treating cancer. Our focus is on improving your quality of life during your treatments. It is our hope that these nutrition tips for cancer patients will be helpful for you.

Nutrition Tips for Cancer Patients

Prior to cancer, you may have been fairly healthy. Most people are familiar with what they need to do to eat a healthy diet. You probably focused on eating:

  • Plenty of whole grain foods
  • Less red meat
  • Lots of vegetables
  • Lots of fruits

As you know, when you have cancer your desire for food changes. You may need to make some changes in your diet too. Don’t be afraid to:

  • Eat foods that are higher in fat to keep your weight up
  • Eat high calorie foods
  • Drink plenty of milk if it tastes good to you
  • Eat ice cream because it may be soothing to a dry or sore throat

Why is Getting Adequate Nutrition So Hard for Cancer Patients?

If you have cancer, your body is going through a lot of changes internally. You have probably noticed that your throat is often dry. You may not have much of an appetite, or you could have sore teeth or gums. A number of problems can affect your appetite.

At Issels®, we can help you cope with these and other issues you may be facing. Contact us to learn more.

Cancer Caregivers, Uncategorized

Tips on How to Prepare to Be a Cancer Caregiver

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When a loved one has cancer, becoming their caregiver can help ensure that they have support and assistance from someone they trust. As a cancer caregiver, you might help them with daily tasks, accompany them to cancer treatment appointments, and offer emotional support. Stepping into this role can be challenging, especially if it’s new for you. The following tips can help you prepare to be a cancer caregiver for your loved one.

Set Realistic Expectations

No matter how much you want to help your loved one, you won’t be able to do everything for them. Set realistic expectations on what you can handle based on your schedule and abilities. Being realistic about the care you provide can help prevent you from becoming frustrated or burned out in your new role.

Ask for Help with Caregiving

Don’t be afraid to reach out to others for help with cancer caregiving. Make a list of other people you can turn to when you’re having trouble handling caregiving tasks, such as another family member. This can help alleviate the amount of stress you’re under, so you can avoid becoming overwhelmed.

Set Aside Time for Yourself

Taking care of yourself while being a cancer caregiver is highly important. Make time in your schedule to do something you enjoy or focus on relaxation. This can help ease stress and allow you to recharge, so you’ll have more energy and better mental focus.

Take Care of Your Own Health

Making sure you stay in good health can make it easier to handle caregiving tasks. Eat healthy foods, get plenty of sleep, and get some exercise each day.

If you need more information on cancer treatment for your loved one, please contact Issels®. We can discuss our immunotherapy therapies and provide additional details on our approach to treatment.

Cancer Caregivers, Uncategorized

When You and Your Family Disagree About Your Treatment Choices

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Whether you opt for cancer immunotherapy or more traditional treatment methods, some family members may disagree with your choices. With open and honest communication, you can all work together to make sure you get the support you need.

Tips for Discussing Cancer Treatment

When a family member objects to your chosen form of cancer treatment, it’s usually caused by concern for you and fear of the unknown. Experts suggest the following tips for maintaining productive and positive discussions.

– As the patient, you are the one who will be directly affected, so your wishes should be considered first. You should also feel free to change your mind if circumstances change or you get new information.

– Talk about your priorities in choosing a particular course of treatment. Knowing what’s important to you will help others understand your decision.

– People may be uncomfortable talking about cancer and treatment options for a wide variety of reasons, including fear, lack of knowledge and religious beliefs. Ask a member of your healthcare team or an experienced counselor to be involved in the discussions.

– Identify problems that may arise during treatment so everyone is prepared.

– Find out from your doctor which decisions are urgent and which ones are less pressing. This helps reduce the amount of pressure that family members may feel.

Cancer Immunotherapy with a Personal Touch

Dealing with cancer is frightening for patients and their families. At Issels®, we refuse to let the disease rob you of your individuality. Our treatments are tailored to address your personal situation and needs.

Contact us to learn more about our non-toxic cancer immunotherapy programs.

Immunotherapy for Cancer, Uncategorized

Understanding How Cancer is Diagnosed

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Healthcare professionals agree that early diagnosis improves the chances for successful cancer treatment. If you experience symptoms or a screening test calls for a closer look, these are the tests most frequently used to make a diagnosis of cancer.

1. Blood chemistry test

Our organs routinely release enzymes, electrolytes and other substances into the bloodstream. Abnormally high or low levels could be a sign that kidneys, liver or other organs are not working properly, which could be due to cancer.

2. Complete blood count (CBC)

A CBC, which is a detailed analysis of the bloodstream, is often conducted during routine physicals. Factors include the number of red and white blood cells and platelets, as well as the amount of hemoglobin, which is the protein that carries oxygen. CBCs are particularly useful in diagnosing cancers in the blood stream, known as leukemia.

3. Liquid biopsy

Liquid biopsies are used to find out if cancer cells or DNA from tumor cells are present in the blood. This test can be also part of determining appropriate cancer treatment and follow-ups to see if the treatment is working.

4. CT scans and MRIs

Both CT scans and MRIs involve taking detailed pictures of your body’s interior. A CT scan uses an x-ray machine, while an MRI involves a magnet and radio waves.

5. Biopsy

A biopsy is most often used to diagnose cancer, but it can also help diagnose other health problems, such as cirrhosis. When lesions, lumps or other tissue abnormalities are detected, a doctor will remove a sample so the cells can be studied more closely.

Cancer Treatment for Advanced Cases

At Issels®, our non-toxic programs have helped to achieve long-term remission in patients, even if they are already in Stage IV. Visit our website to read and hear their testimonials.

Immunotherapy for Cancer, Uncategorized

Immunotherapy: “The New Hope” for Cancer Patients

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After years of research, scientists are still unable to pinpoint the causes and predictors of cancer with absolute certainty. The good news is that immunotherapy for cancer now offers hope for patients who previously had few options.

An Immunotherapy Success Story

One such patient was Tish Vigna. Four years ago she was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer in her left lung, despite being a physically fit non-smoker. She underwent a course of chemotherapy, radiation and surgery only to discover that the cancer had spread to her right lung.

Tish’s oncologist suggested that she enter a clinical trial of immunotherapy for cancer at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto. After months of treatment, doctors found that the tumors had shrunk in half and there has been no subsequent growth.

How Does Immunotherapy Work?

Immunotherapy is a process of boosting the ability of your own immune system to fight cancer cells naturally. These treatments generally fall within two categories:

  • With adoptive T-cell therapy, doctors extract the attacking T-cells from a patient’s tumor to increase their numbers. The cells are then re-entered into the patient’s system where they are now better equipped for battle.
  • The immune system has a braking mechanism that prevents it from going into overdrive. Checkpoint inhibitors disable these brakes so the T-cells can attack cancer cells with full force.

Issels®: Leading the Way with Immunotherapy

While immunotherapy for cancer has been making a big splash in the medical community recently, Issels® has been successfully using these personally tailored treatments for decades. Contact us today for more information about our immunotherapy programs such as cancer vaccines and NK cells.