Category Archives: Cancer Research

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, 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.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research

New Research Changes Our Understanding of How Cancer Metastasizes

Doctor Listening to Patient
Doctor Listening to Patient

For decades researchers in the lab have studied cancer cells in flat, shallow Petri dishes. As a result, assumptions about how cancer behaves in the body have been based on two-dimensional models. Now, new research is turning long-held beliefs about cancer upside down. Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered that cancer actually moves quite differently in the three-dimensional human body than it does in the lab.

How Cancer Spreads in 3D vs. 2D Models

In two-dimensions cancer cells move in a slow, aimless fashion called a “random walk.” Until now researchers had assumed that cancer cells moved in the same random way in the three-dimensional human body, making it virtually impossible to determine where cancer might land when it metastasizes.

The new findings indicate that cancer cells are more directional than random when moving through three-dimensional spaces like the human body. New 3D modeling may allow cancer experts to predict the most likely path of metastasis should cancer spread.

How Cancer Cells Move Explained

“Cancer cells that break away from a primary tumor will seek out blood vessels and lymph nodes to escape and metastasize to distant organs,” Denis Wirtz, director of Johns Hopkins Physical Sciences Oncology Center, explained on HUB. “For a long time, researchers have believed that these cells make their way to these blood vessels through random walks. In this study, we found out that they do not. Instead, we saw that these cells will follow more direct, almost straight-line trajectories. This gives them a more efficient way to reach blood vessels—and a more effective way to spread cancer. This means that the time these cancer cells need to make their way out of connective tissues is much shorter than previous estimates.”

The new 3D model may lead to more effective advanced targeted immune therapies and cancer vaccines designed to protect against metastasis.

Cancer Research, News

High Protein Diet Linked to Increased Cancer Risk

High Protein Diets Linked to Cancer
High Protein Diets Linked to Cancer

Many people swear by high-protein diets, crediting Atkins, Paleo and other protein-intense diets with helping them drop excess weight and keep it off. But by relying on protein to improve one aspect of their health, protein lovers could be opening themselves to an even greater health risk. New research has linked high-protein diets to increased cancer risk.

This isn’t welcome news for meat-loving Americans. Even if you think you’re following a healthy diet, you may be eating more protein than you realize. A surprising number of the most popular weight loss diets in the U.S. are high in protein. According to Health Central, protein-rich foods account for nearly a third of the daily menu in the following diets: The Biggest Loser, Atkins, South Beach, Abs and Zone. Even the Weight Watchers Diet, which is considered to be more well-balanced than most diet programs, recommends that protein comprise a quarter of your diet.

Interestingly, the study found that all protein does not carry the same risk. People who get their protein primarily from animal meat and dairy are at greater risk of developing cancer than those who favor plant-based proteins. Additionally, age seems to be a factor in the intensity of the cancer risk. We’ll talk about that next time.

Diet is an important part of Issels individualized immunotherapy program for treating cancer. At Issels alternative cancer treatment centers in Tijuana Mexico and Santa Barbara, California, our patients receive education in making healthy diet and lifestyle choices that will allow them to continue strengthening their immune system after they leave our care.

 

To be continued

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research

BPA Linked to Prostate Cancer

Prostate Cancer Treatment
Prostate Cancer Treatment

BPA is back in the news. This time industrial chemical Bisphenol-A has been linked to prostate cancer. Two years ago, fear about BPA’s effect on infants and young children caused the Food and Drug Administration to ban its use in baby bottles, infant formula packaging and children’s cups. However, the agency ruled there was not enough scientific evidence to ban BPA’s use in food packaging. Since then, despite public demands and introduction of several bills, Congress has failed to pass legislation banning BPA in food packaging.

Prostate Cancer Danger

Already associated with breast cancer, diabetes, obesity and hormonal abnormalities in children, BPA, which mimics estrogen when it enters the human body, has now been linked to prostate cancer. Researchers at the Cincinnati Cancer Center found that men with prostate cancer exhibited BPA levels in their urine that were two to four times greater than men who were cancer free. More importantly, BPA levels were highest in younger men under 40 who are typically at lower risk of developing prostate cancer. In animal research, BPA has triggered prostate tumor development and growth.

“BPA may potentially contribute to either the development or progression of prostate cancer, or the BPA is more predictive of cancer,” study leader Dr. Shuk-mei Ho told Newsweek. Noting that the Cincinnati study was small in scope, Ho said immediate, larger studies are needed.

Chelation Therapy Removes Toxins

When integrated into Issels’ integrative immunotherapy core program, chelation therapy may aid treatment of BPA-linked prostate cancer. An alternative cancer treatment designed to eliminate undesirable substances from the body, chelation removes heavy metals, chemical toxins, mineral deposits and fatty plaques that may contribute to cancer growth. For more information about chelation and other alternative cancer treatments, visit our website.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research

Three Lifestyle Strategies Can Decrease Cancer Risk

Diet and Health Can Prevent Cancer
Diet and Health Can Prevent Cancer

Three lifestyle strategies that have already been found to lower heart disease and diabetes risk are also proving effective in cutting cancer risk. While smoking is the leading preventable cause of cancer, three lifestyle choices – poor diet, excess weight and inadequate physical activity — have been linked to nearly a third of all cancer cases, according to a joint policy report by the World Cancer Research Fund and American Institute for Cancer Research.

The recently released Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study found that cancer risk could be lowered significantly by following the American Cancer Society’s Guidelines on Nutrition and Physical Activity for Cancer Prevention. In tracking more than 65,000 post-menopausal women over a 12-year period, researchers found that women who closely followed the ACS guidelines were able to lower their overall cancer risk by 17% and even more dramatically decrease their risk of two specific cancers, cutting breast cancer risk by 22% and colorectal cancer risk by 52%. One of the significant discoveries of the study was that cancer risk could be significantly decreased even when healthy lifestyle changes where implemented later in life when cancer risk typically rises.

The “Magic 3” lifestyle choices for lowering cancer risk are:

• Weight. Maintain a healthy weight throughout your life.

• Diet. Eat a diet rich in plant-based and whole-grain foods.

• Exercise. At least 30 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a day is recommended.

The lifestyle changes promoted by the American Cancer Society help your body build and maintain a healthy immune system which is most likely responsible for their success in decreasing cancer risk. The body’s immune system plays a critical role in fighting cancer cells. In the same way that immunotherapy bolsters the body’s innate ability to fight cancer, boosting the body’s immune system may also help prevent cancer.