All posts by heavy

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research, Cancer Survivors

Which Cancer Is Most Deadly for Women?

Lung Cancer in Women
Lung Cancer in Women

If you answered breast cancer, you are not alone; but you would be wrong. Most women are surprised to find out that lung cancer is the deadliest type of cancer for women. Lung cancer accounts for nearly 40% of all cancer deaths among women, compared to 22% for breast cancer and 13% for colorectal cancer, the third leading cause of cancer death among women, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Perhaps because breast cancer receives so much press and is so obviously linked to women, many people assume that breast cancer poses women’s greatest cancer fatality risk. However, while it is the most common “female” cancer, breast cancer is only the second leading cause of cancer death among women and is one of the more treatable forms of cancer. (Among women of Hispanic heritage, breast cancer is the No. 1 cancer killer with lung cancer running a close second.) Particularly when discovered early, breast cancer frequently offers a high rate of successful long-term remission. As Issels treatment cases indicate, even when discovered late, integrated immunotherapy has helped many breast cancer patients achieve long-term remission.

November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month, an excellent opportunity to discuss risk factors and treatment options for the cancer that causes more deaths among women than breast, uterine and ovarian cancer combined! While smoking is the primary cause of lung cancer, the disease also strikes many women who have never smoked. As it has for women with breast cancer, Issels personalized immunotherapy has also helped numerous lung cancer patients achieve successful remission.

Cancer Research, Uncategorized

New Studies Are Identifying Specific Cancer Risk Factors

Cancer Research
Cancer Research

The ability to examine cancer at the genetic level is generating tremendous volumes of new data that are both expanding and complicating our understanding of cancer. New cancer studies are identifying an increasing number of specific cancer risk factors; but in most cases we do not yet understand how those risk factors eventually develop into certain types of cancer or why some people develop cancer but others do not when risk factors are present.

To understand the complexities involved, consider these examples:

• A study of nearly 145,000 post-menopausal women between the ages of 50 and 79 found that height was a greater indicator of cancer risk than obesity, which is now known to increase the risk of multiple cancers. Researchers suspect that the growth hormones that influence height may also play a role in the cell division processes associated with cancer tumor development.

• Another study of more than 2,000 men found that truck drivers were four times more likely than most other men to develop an aggressive form of prostate cancer. Because another study revealed a similar risk among operators of heavy machinery, researchers suspect that exposure to constant vibration may be the common trigger.

The ability to process and mine vast volumes of data is revealing many new commonalities within cancer populations that point to potential risk factors. It is hoped that risk factor identification will lead to better cancer prevent techniques and greater use of advanced targeted cancer therapies. The growing number of individual cancer risk factors also points to the importance of individualized immunotherapy in tailoring cancer treatment to an individual’s specific needs.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research

New Genomic Model Could Accelerate Cancer Trials of Targeted Therapies

Lung Cancer Therapy
Lung Cancer Therapy

Study of the cancer genome, a field of research called genomics, has been instrumental in helping researchers unlock cancer’s mysteries. Research into cancer’s genetic code is allowing scientists to explore and experiment with cancer’s most basic building blocks. The result has been phenomenal growth in the area of personalized cancer treatment and advanced targeted cancer therapies.

Now researchers are exploring the use of genomic technology to accelerate patient trials of new cancer drugs designed to target the specific molecular profiles of individual tumors. Set to undergo its first major clinical trial in 2014, the genomic trial model is being heralded by some scientists as the possible beginning of a new era of advanced personalized cancer treatment.

The clinical trial will match new lung cancer drugs to the unique molecular profile of each patient’s tumor and test treatment effectiveness. “If successful, the trial could help bring cancer genome-targeted medicines to patients more quickly than has been possible to date,” an article in MIT Technology Review explained; adding, “One of the great promises of genomic medicine is that doctors will be able to tailor treatments to an individual patient’s disease.”

With our colleagues in the U.S. cancer community we will await the results of this new trial model with great interest. At Issels alternative cancer treatment centers, we have been practicing individualized, targeted cancer therapies for decades with remarkable success. We also found it interesting that the new trial will test immunotherapy drugs designed to stimulate the body’s immune system to attack cancer cells. We have been leaders in the use of immunotherapy to treat cancer for more than 60 years.

Cancer Research

The Language of Cancer

Soldier
Are you a soldier or warrior when it comes to fighting your cancer?

Cancer patients are often referred to as “warriors” who are “fighting” or “battling” cancer. Many cancer patients find strength and courage in creating an adversarial image that pits them against the evil nemesis of cancer. The desire to paint the gray uncertainties of cancer in the black and white colors of good and evil seems to stem from our very human need to define the things we fear in language that acknowledges our potential ability to conquer those fears.

Painting ourselves as heroes and the cancer therapies we use as weapons for good allows us to more easily visualize ourselves defeating the cancer we have cast in the role of evil villain. Many cancer patients find such battle images empowering and seem to draw strength and courage from such images.

But the good vs. evil scenario isn’t a comfortable fit for everyone. There are many cancer patients who prefer to consider their cancer experience a journey. Rather than a battlefield, they seek the peace of personal discovery that often accompanies the cancer experience. Many patients find peace and comfort in accepting cancer as part of their life experience rather than railing against it. But taking a kinder, gentler approach to the cancer should not be seen as fatalistic. In acceptance, these patients are not giving up but are freeing themselves to discover the small delights of ordinary days and focus on positive healing.

There is no one way or right way to deal with cancer. As we do at Issels alternative cancer treatment centers, friends and family should support each cancer patient’s personal choice.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Survivors

Women Call Alternative Cancer Therapies “Empowering”

Happy young woman with a white background
Alternative cancer therapy use is on the rise.

Four British women with cancer called their use of alternative cancer therapies “empowering” in interviews published in The Telegraph. As is true in the U.S. and Canada, more cancer patients in the United Kingdom are seeking alternative cancer treatments either instead of or in conjunction with standard chemotherapy and radiation treatments. The British breast cancer charity The Haven told the Telegraph that “89% of its service users found that non-medical, complementary therapies (including herbal medicine and nutritional, energy, touch and mind-body therapies) were ‘essential’ to their recovery.”

Surprisingly, despite considerable evidence to the contrary, the UK’s National Health Service has so far failed to recognize the importance of diet in boosting the immune system and fighting cancer, prompting an outcry from UK cancer patients. Like the other cancer victims interviewed, Alyssa Burns-Hills, a health specialist, cited diet change as integral to her successful fight against stage one invasive carcinoma. Carefully planned diet change is recommended by the immunotherapy and cancer experts at Issels Medical Center in Santa Barbara, California. Now 50 and cancer-free for 12 years, Alyssa credits her diet for playing a major role in her recovery and continued good health.

Alternative cancer therapies evoke much discussion, and there are all kinds of alternative treatments. But many cancer treatments that were once considered “out there” have proven to be reliably effective, including immunotherapy and diet, and are now embraced by traditional medicine. As the four women interviewed discovered, keeping an open mind about alternative cancer therapy could save your life.

Cancer Care Tips

More Ways to Help a Friend with Cancer

Family Portrait
Family Members Supporting a Cancer Patient

When someone receives a cancer diagnosis, their world turns upside down. The need to evaluate and make treatment choices, the devastating effect standard cancer treatments can have on mind and body, the uncertain outcome of treatment and the impact of the cancer experience on the patient’s family can overwhelm all other aspects of the individual’s life. As we noted in our previous post, when friends and family want to help, cancer patients appreciate specific offers of aid that make their lives easier or that make life feel more normal for their families.

While help navigating the responsibilities of everyday life is necessary and always appreciated, what many cancer patients say they need most is emotional support from their friends and family members. Making time to listen to your friend with a sympathetic ear, provide a sounding board as your friend struggles to evaluate options and make cancer treatment decisions, doing little things to boost your friend’s spirits, and serving as a communications conduit to other friends and family members can be of tremendous help to cancer patients.

Cancer can be an isolating experience. The alternative cancer treatment experts at Issels Medical Center in Santa Barbara, California have found that cancer patients who have supportive friends and family members that are willing to share their cancer journey are best able to cope with the stress and fear that follows cancer diagnosis.

Sign up for Issels’ free e-newsletter to stay abreast of new developments in alternative cancer treatments. For more suggestions on how to help a friend with cancer, follow us on Twitter, Google+ and Facebook.