Category Archives: Alternative Cancer Treatment

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy Might Help Prevent Breast Cancer Overtreatment

Breast Cancer Diagnosis
Breast Cancer Diagnosis

The value of mammograms is a hotly debated topic these days. Proponents consider the breast X-rays to be a valuable diagnostic tool; however, opponents of annual mammograms criticize the high volume of false positives and high rates of overtreatment that cause women to undergo painful and expensive cancer treatments unnecessarily.

According to a recent New York Times article on the controversy, “some studies estimate that 19% or more of women whose breast cancers are found by mammography wind up being overtreated.” That means that nearly 1 in 5 women who receive a breast cancer diagnosis as a result of a mammogram are undergoing the emotional trauma, pain and expense of surgery, chemotherapy or radiation treatments they do not need.

Overtreatment occurs when mammography detects tiny, slow-growing cancers that are unlikely to develop into life-threatening problems during the patient’s lifetime. Left untreated, these small cancers might never impact the patient’s life. Treating these cancers, however, subjects women to traumatic surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatments that can have life-altering consequences. Prostate cancer and lung cancer have been subject to similar charges of unnecessary overtreatment.

Our own fear of cancer may be partly to blame for the high rate of cancer overtreatment in the U.S. Most people panic when they receive a cancer diagnosis and fail to explore all the treatment options available. For many patients, non-toxic integrative immunotherapy offers a viable alternative to more traumatic traditional treatment options.

An alternative cancer treatment, integrative immunotherapy bolsters the body’s natural defenses, targeting cancer cells and tumors as well as the surrounding tumor microenvironment which affects the growth and spread of cancer. Immunotherapy also targets both known and unknown cancer cells throughout the body, improving your chances of complete long-term remission. Visit our website to find out more about Issels integrative immunotherapy.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research

The History of Issels

Get the Treatment You Need at Issels
Get the Treatment You Need at Issels

Those frustrated with or questioning the viability of traditional cancer treatments are likely considering alternative cancer therapy. Throughout the course of your research for holistic cancer treatment options, the Issels cancer treatment will invariably appear. Its history as a successful natural cancer treatment is the reason for this prominence. To help you better understand this history and what the Issels natural treatment therapy is all about, this post will provide you more information.

In 1951, Dr. Joseph Issels founded the world’s first integrative treatment hospital with the mission of combining the enhancement of patient quality of life and cancer treatment. With nearly 90 percent of the hospital’s initial patients being failed by standard cancer treatment methods, Dr. Issels and his medical team were up against a tall task.

The alternative therapy treatments for cancer that they developed included various immunotherapy methodologies that are still in use to this very day. The results of the Issels alternative cancer therapy treatments have been astounding. A large portion of cancer patients who undergo this treatment successfully reach long-term or permanent remission. Those who had received traditional cancer treatment prior to receiving Issels alternative cancer therapy treatment have had especially great success, with an 87 percent success rate for preventing recurrence (up from 50 percent with traditional treatments only).

The success of the Issels holistic cancer therapy is not limited to cancers. It has also successfully been shown to mitigate or completely cure degenerative diseases such as arthritis, systemic lupus, Grave’s disease and Sjoegren’s syndrome.

To learn more about the history and benefits of Issels cancer therapy and other cancer treatments, contact us today.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, News

Big Pharma Criticized for Standing in the Way of New Cancer Treatments

Big Pharmasudical Problems
Big Pharmasudical Problems

“It is time for drug companies to put helping patients first,” says Dr. Carlos S. Moreno. The Associate Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and Biomedical Informatics at Emory University makes a compelling argument on Reuters.com that it’s time large pharmaceutical companies started living up to their stated goal of saving and improving lives. By placing their responsibilities to their shareholders and profit margin over their moral responsibility to better patients’ lives, Moreno says Big Pharma is holding back vital cancer research.

At issue are the roadblocks cancer researchers are encountering as they explore new avenues for treating cancer. As Moreno notes, “Researchers … are making remarkable discoveries to help identify new drugs and drug targets for cancer patients. Many new compounds are under investigation, including those that inhibit the growth of cancer cells, block the blood supply to tumors and prevent tumors from evading the immune system.”

The sequencing of cancer genomes has allowed the development of advanced targeted therapies and is providing researchers with new insights into how cancer grows and why it returns. As Moreno explains:

“One clear insight we have gained is the likelihood that no single drug will be able to defeat cancer. The reason most cancers become drug resistant and come back is because the DNA mutates quickly. Cancer cells that are not killed by the drugs survive, continue to grow and replace the cells that have been wiped out.”

Many cancer researchers have concluded that an integrative approach to cancer treatment is necessary to defeat cancer’s ability to mutate and survive. Unfortunately, researchers are finding that their ability to turn new discoveries into therapeutic cancer treatments is being stymied by Big Pharma’s constant eye on profit margins.

To be continued

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research

Lung Cancer – A Quick Insight

Lung Cancer Treatment
Lung Cancer Treatment

The longstanding controversy regarding cigarettes and second-hand smoke has raised awareness of lung cancer. But how much do you really know about it? Learning some of facts about this disease can result in quicker recognition and more timely treatment.

Lung cancer is the second most common type for both sexes, behind only prostate cancer for men and breast cancer for women. However, it is the leading cause of deaths from cancer, accounting for approximately 27 percent of the overall total. The American Cancer Society estimates that 2014 will see nearly 225,000 new cases of lung cancer, split nearly 50/50 between men and women.

There are two main categories of lung cancer. Small cell, named after their appearance under a microscope, accounts for 10 to 15 percent of all cases and occurs primarily in heavy smokers. The other 85 to 90 percent of cases are non-small cell, which includes a variety of types that behave in similar ways.

While smoking is the major cause of lung cancer, it’s by no means the only one. Another factor that’s gained a great deal of attention is asbestos. Workers who inhale asbestos are at greater risk for lung cancer, including a rare type called mesothelioma. Long-term exposure to radon or diesel exhaust are other risk factors.

Integrated immunotherapy treatment offered at Issels alternative cancer treatment centers provides a natural, non-invasive option for patients suffering from lung cancer. Get a personalized course of treatment that helps maintain quality of life. Please visit our website for more information.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Living with Cancer, Stress Management

Pet Therapy – Improving Your Quality of Life

Pet Therapy
Pet Therapy

Is there anything more adorable and heart-warming than a four-legged friend who offers unconditional love? Pet therapy has become an increasingly popular means of providing physical and emotional support for cancer patients and others dealing with serious health problems. Mayo Clinic oncologist Dr. Edward Creagan has referred to it as “medication without side effects”.

Sigmund Freud was known to use dogs as relaxation aides for his psychotherapy patients, but it’s only fairly recently that pets have been used to “treat” those suffering from cancer. Therapy Dogs International and Pet Partners, the two earliest animal-assisted therapy groups, date back to the mid-1970s.

Cancer patients who receive visit from therapy pets have demonstrated emotional benefits such as lowered stress levels and improved moods. Interacting with the pets can help relieve the loneliness and isolation that often accompanies medical treatment. Some patients have even demonstrated a reduced need for pain medication.

While pets have been known as good companions since the dawn of mankind, researchers have tried to find the specific reasons that pet therapy has proven to be so effective. Studies have shown that visits with pets can reduce the levels of cortisol in the bloodstream. Cortisol is a hormone that produces the “fight or flight” response during high-stress situations. In addition, it can raise the level of endorphins, which are the body’s natural pain-relieving hormones.

Pet therapy can provide a valuable boost to your quality of life during cancer treatment. It’s a good complement to the integrative approach used at Issels alternative cancer treatment centers. Please contact us for more information.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research

Patients Respond to Benefits of Integrative Cancer Therapy

Alternative Cancer Treatments are Worth a Try
Alternative Cancer Treatments are Worth a Try

It is unfortunate that Richard Howard did not discover the benefits of integrative cancer therapy until the final year of his 10-year battle with cancer. His family credits integrative therapies with the gains that allowed him to remain with his family a while longer and the increased feelings of comfort and well-being he experienced during his final year.

There is no way to know if Mr. Howard’s outcome would have been different had he embraced integrative cancer therapy sooner or obtained treatment at an experienced Center for Integrative Medicine rather than a local pilot program. What we do know is that over our more than 60-year history practicing integrative immunotherapy Issels Integrative Oncology has helped many cancer patients achieve complete long-term remission of advanced cancers and cancers that have proven resistant to standard treatment.

Mr. Howard’s daughter Sara, who encouraged her father to try integrative therapies, told the Litchfield (Connecticut) County Times, “I was like, ‘Dad, why not just try it?’ … I researched it and saw all the beneficial things it could do. He did and it was like, ‘Wow!’ and opening up this door for him to a whole other side of medicine.”

An engineer, Mr. Howard was at first skeptical of integrative therapies but was quickly won over by the increased comfort, sense of well-being and mobility he experienced following his first few alternative cancer therapies. The pilot program Mr. Howard participated in was limited to the integration of several Eastern medicine techniques such as acupuncture and massage; but a fully-developed, comprehensive integrative immunotherapy program can offer cancer patients a plethora of beneficial alternative cancer treatment options designed to support and enhance each other.

At Issels Integrative Oncology, we turn skeptics into believers every day. Click to hear what our patients have to say.