Category Archives: Alternative Cancer Treatment

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Stage Four Cancer Treatment

The Realities of Living with Stage 4 Breast Cancer

Breast Cancer Awareness
Stage 4 Breast Cancer

While organizations like Susan G. Komen have promoted the importance of early detection in defeating breast cancer, there is another group that struggles to be heard. Women with Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer (MBC) are working to educate the public about the realities of living with what they refer to as “mets”.

Treating MBC

Cancer becomes metastatic when it travels through the blood to create tumors in the lungs, liver and other parts of the body. Between 20 and 30 percent of women who are diagnosed with early stage breast cancer will develop MBC, which is treatable but not curable.

Jody Schoger, an MBC patient and cancer awareness advocate, explains the difference in philosophy for treating both types. She says that when she received her initial diagnosis, her doctors pulled out all the stops in an attempt to put the tumor in permanent remission. With MBC, however, the best they can hope for is to stabilize the disease so they use a minimum of treatment needed to obtain the maximum effect.

Misconceptions about MBC

Women with MBC are frustrated that the focus on “survivorship” has resulted in a number of erroneous concepts about the disease. Pfizer Oncology surveyed 2,000 people on the topic and found that 60 percent of respondents knew little to nothing about MBC and 50 percent believed that it was a result of patients not taking care of themselves.

At Issels® we see you as an individual, not as your disease. Our treatments are personalized to address your particular needs. Contact us to learn more about our non-toxic alternative treatment program.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research, Immunotherapy

Brain Cancer Immunotherapy Boosted by Tetanus Vaccine

Doctor
Brain Cancer Discoveries

Cancer vaccines train the body’s immune system to target and kill cancer cells, often requiring a boost to the patient’s immune power. A recent study has found a surprising teammate for brain cancer vaccines: the tetanus shot.

The same tetanus vaccine used to prevent bacterial infections associated with rusted metal has a powerful effect of activating and alerting the body’s immune system overall. Because of this, the boost from a tetanus shot may be an extremely effective tool in increasing the success of immunotherapy treatments.

Doctors at Duke University Medical Center recently administered a cancer vaccine trial to patients with glioblastoma, an aggressive type of brain tumor. In patients who first received the tetanus shot to awaken their immune response, survival rates increased significantly.

Here’s what the 12-patient trial study found:

  • Patients given tetanus and cancer vaccines survived 4 to 8 more years, with one patient still surviving. Patients without the tetanus vaccine survived up to 11 months.
  • The tetanus vaccine sounds a warning call to the body’s immune system. This increases the chances that the cancer vaccine will be successfully received by the lymph nodes — where the cancer vaccine must go to train the immune system.
  • The cytomegalovirus — present in most people but inactive — becomes reactivated in brain cancer cells. The dendritic cells cancer vaccine can identify brain cancer cells by looking for active cytomegalovirus.

Researchers hope that the tetanus vaccine can not only be a successful tool to fight glioblastoma brain cancer, but also teach us how to boost other kinds of cancer immunotherapy.

Contact us at Issels® Integrative Immuno-Oncology to find out about cancer vaccines and other innovative forms of immunotherapy.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Care Tips

Guard Your Bones While in Cancer Treatment

Thyroid Cancer
Guard Your Bones

Traditional cancer treatment is brutal on the human body and weakens the immune system. Patients often accept it as a lessor evil that is necessary to combat cancer. They may not know specifically how their cancer can spread or the importance of taking steps to strengthen and protect their bones after a cancer diagnosis. That is why at Issels® Integrative Immuno-Oncology, we provide individualized immunotherapy protocols and all the information you need to make informed treatment decisions.

Watch for bone metastases symptoms

Contact your doctor if you develop any new symptoms like bone pain, numbness, or weakness.

Prevent falls

Many cancer medications can make you weaker and light-headed, increasing the risk of you falling and fracturing a bone. Always use handrails on stairs; consider using a walker and getting a professionally installed handrail for your shower.

Exercise

Talk to your doctor about how much exercise you can and should being doing. Low impact exercises like walking or swimming can build strength and improve your balance and coordination to help you prevent falls.

Bone medications

Discuss available bone medications with your doctor. Medications can strengthen bones, decrease or delay fractures of people with bone metastases, and relieve pain associated with bone cancer.

Supplements

Be sure your doctor is aware of any dietary supplements you take. This is especially important when you are treated for bone metastases. Some risky interactions can occur when supplements are combined with bone strengthening medications.

For more information on our non-toxic cancer treatments, contact Issels® Integrative Immuno-Oncology. You can receive the latest news on cancer research and advancements in treatment methods directly to your inbox by signing up for our free e-Newsletter.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Care Tips

5 Nutrition Tips for Cancer Patients

Eat Healthy And Avoid Metabolic Stress
Nutrition and Cancer

Caring for yourself is an important part of coping with cancer. When you eat the right foods, your body gets the nutrients and energy it needs. Some types of cancer treatments can make it hard for you to eat as you normally would, though. The following cancer care tips can help ensure that you’re able to eat healthy during treatment.

Limit Certain Kinds of Fruits

Eat smaller amounts of fruits with high levels of fructose, such as apples and melons, since your small intestine might have trouble digesting these. Focus on eating fruits with lower levels of fructose, such as berries and bananas.

Cook or Blend Vegetables

Raw vegetables with fiber can be hard to digest. Don’t limit these vegetables, but make sure you either blend them to make a smoothie or cook them. Cooking or blending them makes it easier for your body to digest them.

Be Cautious With Dairy

Some cancer treatments can make you lactose intolerant, although this doesn’t last. Eat small amounts of dairy at a time, and watch for signs of intolerance, such as bloating and gas.

Add Ginger

Ginger can help soothe an upset stomach in those undergoing cancer treatments. Ask your doctor about taking a ginger supplement, or put a small amount of ground ginger in tea.

Avoid Fried Foods

Fried foods that contain a lot of fat can be difficult for your digestive system to handle. Fill up on cooked vegetables and whole grains instead.

Nutrition is just one part of caring for yourself while dealing with cancer. For more help with feeling healthier, contact Issels® for information on personalized non-toxic cancer treatments, such as immunotherapy.

Alternative Cancer Treatment

Too Far to Visit? Distance Cancer Caregiving Tips

Too Far To Travel
Too Far To Travel

It’s rare to find families whose members all live close by, and this can cause a great deal of stress and anxiety when you find out someone you love has been diagnosed with cancer. You immediately feel as though you need to contribute in some way, but it’s difficult when you’re not there. Even so, there are many things you can do as a long distance cancer caregiver.

Stay Connected

You might not be able to get on a plane and go visit your relative, but thanks to modern technology, you can still stay connected in many ways. Skype or other types of video calling are great tools that can allow you to talk with each other and see each other at the same time. When used correctly and often, it can make you both feel like you are right by their side. Of course, you don’t want to forget the more traditional forms of communication too. A card or a phone call can go a long way to really brighten anyone’s day and let them know you’re thinking of them.

Take Care of Yourself Too

One of the most important things you can do for someone who cares about you is take care of yourself. If you’re not careful, feelings of worry and sadness can quickly turn into anxiety and depression. Allow yourself to cry, journal your feelings and seek counseling if you need to. All of these can help.

Here at Issels® we feel it’s important to offer support to long distance cancer caregivers. If you’d like to know more about how we can help you or your family member, please contact us.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research

Expensive Biologic Drugs May Face Competition from the FDA and Biosimilars

Cancer Drug Research
Cancer Drug Research

Biologic drugs are often used to effectively treat serious, life threatening diseases. The downside, however, is cost – on average 20 times more than traditional chemical drugs – hundreds of thousands per year, per patient, annually. It’s not surprising that these costs are neither sustainable for the average household – or the government. At Issels® we know access to affordable medication, such as biologics, can be essential to your cancer treatment success, so we wanted to let you know about the latest efforts in making these medicines more reasonable for consumers.

Step in biosimilars…
Expensive to produce, biosimilars are to biologics what generics are to name brand chemical drugs. The hope is by allowing competition in the market through the production of biosimilars, a more affordable option will be available to consumers than current high-cost biologics.

What’s the holdup?
The 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) granted the FDA authority to develop a mechanism for approval of biosimilars, but guidelines have yet to be finalized. Interestingly, the FDA accepted its first application last week despite this fact. Many would-be manufacturers are dragging their feet, however, unwilling to take an investment risk without definitive guidelines and knowledge delays caused by biologics – the inventors of these medications – will halt development and approval.

How much will it save?
Similar programs in the E.U., who unlike the U.S. also regulates prices, have resulted in an average savings of about 30 percent less than branded biologics, keeping tens of billions in the pockets of the government and consumers.

Looking for an affordable, effective alternative to your cancer treatment medications?  Contact Issels® today.