Category Archives: Alternative Cancer Treatment

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Care Tips, Immuno-Oncology

Issels Guide: When Should You Get Cancer Screenings?

Worker in a lab
Cancer Prevention Screening News

One of the biggest weapons against cancer is early detection. Being proactive about cancer screening tests can dramatically improve your chances of beating the disease. That is why the American Cancer Society has worked to develop cancer screening guidelines for the most common types of cancer. Simply by referring to their guidelines, you can know when and how often you should be screened. 

Age is one important factor in determining when you should start scheduling regular screenings. The older we get, the more susceptible we are to cancer. For example, women in their 20s should do a self-breast examine to detect any abnormalities, but experts recommend that women over 40 get a yearly mammogram.

The frequency of screenings also depends on your risk factors. If you have a history of certain types of cancer in your family, then you may want to consult with your doctor about a personalized approach to screening. Lifestyle choices can also increase your risk factors and make more frequent testing advisable. Typically, lung cancer screenings are only performed on those patients with clear symptoms, smokers and high risk patients.

The good news is that most screening tests are not painful or invasive. In most cases a blood test or some form of x-ray will be enough to alert doctors to any abnormalities that should be further investigated. 

At Issels®, a premier center for immuno-oncology, we take a comprehensive approach to cancer treatment, which includes early detection. If you still aren’t sure when you should begin screening or you have more questions about certain risk factors, ask your personal physician for help.

 

After Cancer, Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research

Chemotherapy and the Risk of Second Cancers

Confident doctor looking at his senior patient while speaking to her
Do you feel that you physician clearly understands your needs?

Cancer is a tough disease. The treatment options can often cause their own set of problems. This is especially true when it comes to chemotherapy. At Issels®, a center for immuno-oncology, doctors sometimes see patients develop myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). Essentially, chemotherapy can expose patients to high doses of harmful chemicals that then cause further cell mutations, creating a sort of slippery slope that can be hard to climb back up.

Despite the inherent dangers of undergoing chemotherapy, it is still a popular and to a certain degree an effective treatment. The key is to understand the risks and fully discuss your options with your doctor. If you are undergoing cancer treatment and you feel like your doctor is simply telling you what the next step is, without consulting you about quality of life consequences, then you may want to seek out a second opinion from another oncologist or a whole other perspective about non-toxic treatment options from the experts at Issels®.

Through years of research and clinical experience treating patients, we have discovered that a comprehensive approach to treatment that takes into consideration the individual patient’s specific situation and his/her own input is by far the best way to fight against cancer and minimize the side effects of treatment. Short term chemotherapy can be life-saving in the case of aggressively growing tumors that endanger a vital organ, but long-term chemotherapy inevitably damages the bone marrow and suppresses the immune system. To achieve long-term remission we need to restore your body’s own healing power. A non-toxic strategy that includes boosting your immune system, so that treatment is as effective as possible, is one of our hallmarks. Combining our expertise in immuno-oncology with non-toxic treatments may also help reduce your chances of developing other complications and second cancers.

Every patient has his/her individual cancer and specific challenges. This means that every treatment plan needs to be individualized in order to produce optimal results. Contact Issels® to get more information today.

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

Recent Gene Mutation Discovery Linked to Prostate Cancer Offers New Testing and Treatment Hopes

Cancer Support.
Reducing The Chance of Prostate Cancer

We believe at Issels® Immuno-Oncology that integrative immunotherapy treatment plans are critical for successful patient outcomes; which is why we are so excited about the following prostate cancer risk detection and screening news:

The National Cancer Institute estimates that approximately 27,540 American men will die from prostate cancer this year. Yet, as reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers have finally found their first link between inherited genes and prostate cancer — a HOXB13 gene mutation.

The Details

Researchers took samples from 5,100 prostate cancer patients who were 55 years old or younger (94 families represented) and 1,400 healthy men. After sequencing more than 200 genes, they found the following:

  • 72 men in four families carried the same HOXB13 gene mutation.
  • Only one man in the control group had it.

Although these results aren’t definitive proof that the mutation causes prostate cancer, it does appear to be a factor. The researchers also found two more mutations among African men, but they need a larger sampling to confirm if these mutations also play a role.

The Big Picture

Doctors trace the risk of inherited breast cancer in women through tests that look for mutations of BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes that can contribute to cancer growth. The HOXB13 mutation offers hope that doctors might one day be able to test men for genetic links in a similar fashion.

Since men with the HOXB13 gene mutation carry 10-20 times more risk of getting prostate cancer before they reach 55 years old, the discovery of this gene is a scientific breakthrough. At Issels®, we search for breakthroughs like these every single day. Contact us today for more information!

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research, Cancer Survivors, Uncategorized

Good News: Declines in US Cancer Mortality Reported

Decline In Cancer Mortality
Decline In Cancer Mortality

Our team at Issels® always tries to give you up-to-date cancer-related news, but one area we haven’t discussed much recently is news about cancer mortality trends.

Modern Medicine Is Working

As reported in the March 2015 Journal of the National Cancer Institute’s, “The Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 1975-2011,” which was researched by cancer experts from the National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society, the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

  • Cancer mortality rates have dropped for over thirty years among men, women and children.
  • These rate declines have occurred across almost every type of cancer category with the greatest decline in deaths among lung, colorectal and prostate cancer cases.
  • New cancer cases among men declined across the country.

Prevention methods, early detection and treatment advances are believed to be the primary reasons for these fantastic trends.

Constant Vigilance Is Still Necessary

This news doesn’t mean that we should stop trying to create new methods for preventing, detecting and treating all cancers. The authors of the report discovered that:

  • More cases of kidney and thyroid cancers are happening among adults.
  • Higher mortality rates are still happening among patients who have uterine cancer, all adults with liver cancer and men with oral and oropharyngeal cancers.

Yet, in many cases, changing these rates may only require more public intervention efforts to prevent behaviors that influence cancer growth; and greater precision medicine.

We hope that this news gives you and your loved ones hope for the future. For more information about these cancer mortality trends, or to discuss our treatment options, contact us today!

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

Kidney Cancer Beaten by Innovative Immuno-Oncology Treatments

Preventing Kidney Cancer
Preventing Kidney Cancer

Philip Prichard sought out oncologist Nizar M. Tannir at Houston’s MD Anderson Cancer Center in February 2013 with a massive 8-inch, 3.5 pound tumor and just months to live. Despite a previous surgery and other therapies, Prichard’s renal cell cancer had spread to his liver and lungs.

The last hope?
A clinical trial run by Tannir utilizing immunotherapy – the body’s own immune system – to fight cancer cells. The immune-oncology drugs were hoped to enable Prichard’s immune system, specifically his T-cells, recognize and destroy cancer cells that would have previously escaped detection.

The results?
Two weeks after the first treatment, Prichard’s fever, pain, night sweats, weight loss and anemia were relieved. After eight weeks and four infusions, the tumor shrunk approximately 50-60%. After two years, Prichard is so healthy Tannir must now decide if it’s time to stop Prichard’s treatments.

The immuno-oncology breakthrough?
Highly expensive, but effective drugs including ipilimumab, nivolumab and pembrolizumab that have been approved by the FDA for immuno-oncology. Though they are not a one-size-fits all option, talk at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual conference in Chicago is expected to be dominated by these immuno­therapies.

The trickle-down effect?
Dozens of studies are now underway seeking to expand on recent successes, and widen the scope of treatable cancers to include bladder, breast, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, head and neck tumors, and more. The immunotherapy drugs are also being tested in varying combinations with each other and other therapies. Early results look promising.

Today, immuno-oncology is being hailed as the fourth pillar of cancer treatment. Are you taking advantage of its miraculous results? Get your hope and your life back – contact Issels® the experienced cancer immunotherapy expert today!

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research, Living with Cancer, Uncategorized

New Research: Melanoma Drug Causes Decrease in Lung Cancer Tumors

Lung Cancer On The Decline
Fighting Lung Cancer With Skin Cancer Drugs

At our Issels® Integrative Immuno-Oncology centers, we treat a wide variety of cancers including lung cancer. As previously mentioned, we offer this blog to give patients, caregivers, doctors, researchers, educators and students as much information as possible about new, beneficial immunotherapy advances that we feel can help patients.

As reported in May in the New England Journal of Medicine, a recent study found that nivolumab (Opdivo), a new immune checkpoint inhibitor drug that reveals cancer cells that pretend to be healthy cells to help push the immune system to destroy the cancer, is stopping the spread of melanoma and lung cancers almost two times better than ipilimumab (Yervoy).

Side Effects

Side effects with all immunotherapy drug treatments continue to be a problem for as many as 70 to 80 percent of patients. These two drugs were no different. Both caused side effects and the effects increased when the drugs were tested in combination.

Positive Outcomes

Researchers believe the outstanding results outweigh any side effects given there were no deaths during a trial that focused on 945 patients who had advanced and untreated melanoma. Best yet:

  • Patients who received nivolumab experienced a 7-month disease slowdown and a 34 percent tumor reduction versus a 3-month ipilimumab slowdown and 6 percent tumor reduction.
  • Combining both drugs resulted in a 11.5-month slowdown and a 52-percent reduction.

We believe at Issels® that the discovery of nivolumab (Opdivo) as a lung cancer treatment option, and the discovery of the higher effectiveness of the drug when used in combination with ipilimumab (Yervoy), represent incredible breakthroughs in immunotherapy and non-toxic treatment solutions. Contact us today for more information or to schedule an appointment.