All posts by Chris

Cancer Care Tips, Immuno-Oncology, News

July is Bladder Cancer Awareness Month – Do You Know the Bladder Cancer Risk Factors?

Men Are More Likely to Get Bladder Cancer Than Women... Are You at Risk?
Men Are More Likely to Get Bladder Cancer Than Women… Are You at Risk?

This July, you may see people sporting a yellow ribbon for Bladder Cancer Awareness Month. What do you know about the risks for this type of cancer that accounts for five percent of all new diagnoses in the United States each year?

Demographic Factors

  • Bladder cancer is the fourth most common type of cancer in men. According to projections by the American Cancer Society, in 2016 new diagnoses of bladder cancer in men will outnumber women three to one.
  • Approximately 90 percent of bladder cancer occurs in people over the age of 55.
  • Caucasians are twice as likely as African-Americans and Hispanics to develop bladder cancer. Occurrences are also lower in Asian-Americans and American Indians.

Lifestyle Factors

  • Smoking is the most serious risk factor, tripling your chances of developing bladder cancer. In addition, roughly half of all bladder cancer cases with both men and women are caused by smoking.
  • The diabetes medicine Actos, along with certain dietary supplements, has been linked to an increased risk of bladder cancer.

Medical Factors

  • Previous chemotherapy or radiation treatment can increase your risk of developing bladder cancer.
  • While direct cause-and-effect of bladder cancer has not yet been established, a link has been found with chronic urinary tract infections or bladder and kidney stones.

Issels® Offers Non-Toxic Immunotherapy for Bladder Cancer

Patients at Issels® have been successfully treated with immunotherapy for bladder cancer as well as other common forms such as lung cancer, breast cancer and melanoma. Contact us to learn more about our cancer vaccines and other personalized, integrative treatment programs.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research, Immuno-Oncology, Immunotherapy, News

July is Bladder Cancer Awareness Month, Will You Be Wearing the Yellow Ribbon?

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New Immunotherapy Drug Can Help Fight Bladder Cancer
New Immunotherapy Drug Can Help Fight Bladder Cancer

If you or someone you love has received a diagnosis of bladder cancer or is in stage four and have exhausted treatment options, NBC news reports that there may be new hope for immunotherapy treatment for bladder cancer. This information is timely as July is Bladder Cancer Awareness Month.

Immunotherapy treatments

Immunotherapy for bladder cancer works by treating a person’s immune system so it has the ability to fight cancer.

According to the NBC news article, “more successful approaches, involve training immune cells to recognize a patient’s specific tumors, or finding and amplifying a patient’s own tumor-specific immune cells.” Immunotherapy now appears to be the best course of cancer treatment for many patients.

New drug, new hope

Hope now lies in a drug newly-approved by the FDA called atezolizumab (brand name Tecentriq) that boosts the immune system to slow the spread of tumors in patients in the advanced stages of bladder cancer. It’s the latest development in immunotherapy for bladder cancer treatments and it has shown promising results.

In a study of 119 patients who received the drug as treatment revealed that growth stopped in the tumors in 24% of those patients in the advanced stages of bladder cancer. The drug also shrank the tumors by 30%. According to the research team, 21 of the original patients from 2014 who received the immunotherapy for bladder cancer are still in remission today.

Learn more about our non-toxic immunotherapy for bladder cancer by contacting Issels® Integrative Immuno-Oncology.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Survivors, Immuno-Oncology, Immunotherapy, Living with Cancer

Cancer Survivors: A Unique Perspective on Hope

Cancer Survivors: A Unique Perspective on Hope
Cancer Survivors: A Unique Perspective on Hope

Here at Issels®, we frequently encounter people who have been newly diagnosed with cancer, and their hope for a long healthy life seems gone. For the longest time, a cancer diagnosis has been linked with impending death, and while it’s true that some do lose their lives to this terrible disease, for the first time cancer patients can truly have hope.

There have been many advances in cancer treatment in recent years, and more patients are getting screened early on if they feel they are at higher risk. Early detections and improvements in treatment are saving lives, and the number of cancer survivors is expected to increase at an incredible rate in the months and years ahead. Currently, there are 15.5 million cancer survivors in the United States, and in just ten years that number is expected to hit 20 million.

Knowing these numbers is important, because cancer survivors have different needs than cancer patients; especially those who have undergone treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation. These patients often have serious, long-standing effects from what we’ve always thought of as “conventional” cancer treatments, and experts are still trying to find a way to help them with the physiological and psychological effects that can last the rest of their lives.

There’s no question that chemotherapy and radiation have been life-saving for many cancer survivors. However, they have also caused significant problems, such as heart disease, osteoporosis, neuropathy, and other physical ailments.

At Issels®, our focus is on immunotherapy, which has been shown to have no devastating long-term effects. Please contact us to learn more about this breakthrough in cancer treatment.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Care Tips, Cancer Survivors, Immunotherapy, Living with Cancer

Cancer Survivors: Tips on Living Healthy After Treatment

Cancer Survivors: Tips on Living Healthy After Treatment
Cancer Survivors: Tips on Living Healthy After Treatment

Here at Issels®, whenever we talk with cancer patients about their fears, they’re most concerned about being told that their cancer has returned after being declared “cancer free.” There are actually a lot of things that can be done to reduce your risk of a recurrence and improve your overall health.

Risk Factors for Cancer Survivors

Staying healthy is very important for cancer survivors, and if you fall into certain high-risk groups, there is an elevated chance that your cancer will return. These groups include:

  • Those who are obese or overweight
  • Those who have a heart condition
  • Those who have high blood pressure
  • Those who have been diagnosed with diabetes

While it might seem as though you can’t really do much to change any of these physical ailments or conditions, making small changes to your everyday routine can help. Not only will you feel better overall, but your body will be more equipped to fight off cancer if it does attempt to make a comeback.

Help for Cancer Survivors: Getting Healthy

To get and keep your body in the best possible physical condition, you should consider making these changes to your lifestyle:

  • Start eating healthier foods, and talk with a nutritionist to find out what’s recommended.
  • Add exercise to your daily routine – even a small amount each day can work wonders.
  • Stop all tobacco use.
  • Find healthy ways to deal with stress.
  • Cut down or eliminate the amount of alcohol you drink.

At Issels®, we can help you find the right combination of changes that will help you thrive! Contact us to learn more about immunotherapy.

Cancer Care Tips, Cancer Survivors, Immuno-Oncology, Immunotherapy, Living with Cancer

How to Survive Cancer – Tips from Sam Donaldson

These Tips Can Improve Your Outlook on Life!
These Tips Can Improve Your Outlook on Life!

When veteran TV journalist Sam Donaldson was diagnosed with melanoma, he thought he had three months to live. That was in 1995, and thanks to successful treatment he went on to live another 20 years and counting. He has since passed on some important lessons to his fellow cancer survivors.

Dealing with a Cancer Diagnosis

The reporter’s mother had died of melanoma at 93, while his brother succumbed to liver cancer at 49, so Donaldson thought he understood what he was in for. One thing he knew is that melanoma is a “bad actor” that takes an unpredictable course.

Since Donaldson’s treatment began almost immediately, he had little chance to do any research. Over his post-treatment years, Donaldson has done extensive research on cancer as a member of the “Cancer Club, Melanoma Division.”

Top Three Tips for Cancer Patients

Here are Donaldson’s top three tips for people who have cancer, as told to the National Institutes of Health:

• While cancer can still be fatal, it’s no longer an automatic death sentence and the “Cancer Survivors Club” is growing each year.

• Get a second opinion, and even a third if need be. Consulting more than one specialist improves the accuracy of your diagnosis and helps you find the expert best suited for your treatment.

• Stay optimistic. As Donaldson says, a positive attitude doesn’t cure cancer, but there’s no question that it makes a difference.

Our personalized immunotherapy programs at Issels® have introduced many patients to the “Cancer Survivors Club.” Contact us today to learn more about our cancer vaccines and other non-toxic treatments.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy for Cancer – Is It Right for You?

Could Immunotherapy Be Your Miracle Treatment?
Could Immunotherapy Be Your Miracle Treatment?

The concept of using your body’s own resources to fight cancer dates back more than 100 years, but immunotherapy for cancer has recently emerged in the public eye thanks to incredible advancements over the last 10 years. Is this cutting-edge treatment right for you?

Functions of the immune system

Traditional cancer treatments, such as radiation and chemotherapy, have focused on fighting tumors from the “outside.” Immunotherapy is different because it involves boosting your immune system’s ability to attack cancer cells naturally.

Your immune system operates much like an army, with each cell having a specific duty that contributes to the overall function.

• Cells on the “front line” recognize foreign bodies that have entered your system.

• Other cells take on the actual “battle” of attacking and defeating those invaders.

• “Messenger” cells tie everything together by facilitating communications between the cells.

How immunotherapy helps your body fight cancer

Cancer presents a unique challenge for this normally efficient process. Since cancer cells develop from your body’s own cells, the immune system has difficulty recognizing them, which gives these mutated cells a chance to multiply.

Immunotherapy for cancer involves complex interactions, but they generally fall into one of two categories. Some treatments make cancer cells more identifiable to your immune system. Others boost your system’s immune response, which includes actions such as blocking certain factors that enable growth of a tumor.

Our Issels® center has been successfully using immunotherapy for cancer for more than 60 years. Visit our website to read and watch testimonials from patients of all ages who have benefited from our personalized non-toxic treatments.