Category Archives: Cancer Survivors

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research, Cancer Survivors, Living with Cancer

What Office Managers Need to Know About Staff with Cancer

Information For Managers Dealing With Cancer Patients
Information For Managers Dealing With Cancer Patients

As treatments such as immunotherapy for cancer become more effective, the number of survivors continues to increase. If you are an office manager, chances are you will have an employee dealing with a cancer diagnosis at least once during your tenure.

Maintaining a professional but supportive workplace environment can be a fine line to walk. Some elements are covered in company policies, but many are less defined. Here are some tips to help you strike a balance between business and personal needs.

Focus on the employee

When you sit down for the initial conversation with your employee, concentrate on their needs first.

  • Find a private location without distractions.
  • Let your employee do most of the talking while you listen carefully. This approach preserves their privacy and allows them to establish a comfort level.
  • Provide encouragement, but avoid agreeing or disagreeing with anything they say.
  • Finish with a summary of the main points to make sure you are both on the same page.

Respect their privacy

Some people are open about their health status while others prefer to limit how much they make public. Find out where your employee stands and respect their wishes either way.

Help them understand their options

Information about medical leave, health insurance and other human resource issues can be difficult to navigate. Help your employee understand the options or recruit someone who can.

At Issels®, our immunotherapy for cancer is aimed at allowing patients to resume and maintain their normal activities with as little interruption as possible. Visit our website for more information about our innovative treatments, including cancer vaccines and gene-targeted therapies.

Cancer Survivors, Immunotherapy, Stage Four Cancer Treatment

The Unquestionable Game Changer in Cancer Treatment

Integrative Immunotherapy is the Unquestionable Game Changer in Cancer Treatment
Integrative Immunotherapy is the Unquestionable Game Changer in Cancer Treatment

As recently as 15 years ago, the chances of survival for a patient whose melanoma had spread to other parts of the body were only slightly more than zero. Today, thanks to advancements in the area of integrative immunotherapy, these patients have a legitimate source of hope.

Paving the way for treatment

Pete Daly was one of those patients for whom a diagnosis of metastatic melanoma meant a bleak future. With immunotherapy entering a clinical trial phase, Daly believed his participation would give meaning to his situation by helping others.

Up to that point, testing had been done only on monkeys. It didn’t take long to see results as within weeks Daly’s doctors found that his tumors were shrinking. Currently, 13 years after testing Daly continues to show no signs of cancer.

Former President Jimmy Carter is another patient who has benefited from integrative immunotherapy. He is also no longer showing signs of the melanoma that had formed in his liver and brain.

Immunotherapy is a “game changer”

Oncologist Dr. Mark Albertini of the Carbone Cancer Center at University of Wisconsin Health credits the courage of patients like Daly for contributing to the development of immunotherapy treatments, which he refers to as “game changers.” Dr. Albertini stresses that early detection is still key to successful cancer treatment.

Issels® has been a pioneer in the use of integrative immunotherapy treatments that are personalized to meet each patient’s individual needs. Visit our website today to learn more about our cancer vaccines and other advanced non-toxic cancer treatment protocols.

After Cancer, Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research, Cancer Survivors, Living with Cancer

Coping with the Side Effects of Traditional Cancer Treatment

Dealing With Side Effects
Dealing With Side Effects

One of the goals of non-toxic cancer treatments at the Issels immuno-oncology center is a reduction of debilitating side effects typically caused by traditional treatments. Unfortunately, side effects are a frequent result of therapy when using chemotherapy and radiation.

Successful management of side effects has benefits for both your physical and mental well-being. Here are three of the more common side effects of traditional cancer treatment along with tips to reduce them.

  1. Fatigue from radiation and chemotherapy

Not only is cancer treatment energy-sapping on its own, it can sometimes result in anemia, which also causes fatigue. This exhaustion often interferes with normal activities so many patients find it helpful to cut back on work and other obligations. A healthy diet and moderate exercise can also help, but it’s important to get rest when you need it.

  1. Hair loss from chemotherapy

Hair loss is a well-known side effect of chemotherapy, which destroys rapidly dividing cells like hair roots. The loss is usually temporary, and hair grows back from three to 10 months following the last treatment, but can be permanent in some patients. A variety of options are available based on your personal preference. They include cutting your hair short or covering your head with hats, scarves and wigs.

  1. Nausea from chemotherapy

Nausea and vomiting that accompanies chemotherapy is usually addressed with medication. Some patients avoid types of food that tend to be irritating, such as greasy or spicy products. Based on a 2004 study, researchers are exploring the possibility that expectations of nausea can be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Treatment protocols at our immuno-oncology center include non-toxic therapies that minimize harmful side effects. Contact us to learn more about the Issels® personalized programs.

After Cancer, Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Survivors, News, Testimonials

There is “Life” After Cancer

Life After Cancer
Life After Cancer

While it was once unlikely at best, surviving cancer has become reality for a steadily growing number of patients. According to the American Cancer Society, survivorship is defined from the point of diagnosis and extends through the balance of life.

The ACS teamed up with the National Cancer Institute for extensive reports on current cancer survivorship and treatment statistics. Here is a look at some numbers that reflect the positive results of integrative immunotherapy and other effective treatment methods.

Cancer rates are down while survivorship is up

While there has been a reduction in cancer incidence rates, the number of survivors has grown sharply over the last 40 years. The 3.3 million total in 1974 has become 14.5 million in 2014, with the number expected to reach 18.9 million by 2024.

Gender differences are minor

Female survivors outnumber male survivors by slightly more than 700,000, but percentages by age, type of cancer and post-diagnosis years are remarkably similar. More than 40 percent of survivors in both groups are aged 70 and older, due to the aging of the Baby Boomer generation.

Early detection makes a major difference

Statistics continue to show the importance of early diagnosis and treatment. The five-year survival rates for breast, prostate, colon and skin cancers range from 90-100 percent when diagnosed at the early localized stage.

Issels® has been successfully treating patients for years using non-toxic integrative immunotherapy. Visit our website to learn more about how our protocols are based on a patient’s individual needs, boosting the body’s own natural defense mechanisms.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Care Tips, Cancer Research, Cancer Survivors

New Support for Cancer Treatment During Pregnancy

Happy mother, father and daughter in the park
Keeping Baby Safe Even With Cancer

Patients who receive a cancer diagnosis have some difficult choices to make regarding treatments such as chemotherapy or immuno-oncology. Pregnant women have two lives to consider, placing additional weight on their decision for cancer treatment. Is there any option that will not pose significant risk to the fetus?

Some doctors recommend erring on the side of caution, suggesting a preterm delivery or even termination. The results of a study that was presented at the recent European Cancer Conference in Vienna show that cancer treatment may not necessarily interfere with a healthy, full-term pregnancy.

Dr. Frédéric Amant of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium was the lead author of the study, which involved more than 100 children born to women who underwent cancer treatment within the last two trimesters of their pregnancy. Results revealed no difference in cardiac and cognitive functions between these children and those in the control group.

Since birth defects are most likely to occur during the first trimester, none of the women participating in the study received treatment during that period. Premature delivery was found to have a greater impact on fetal development than cancer treatment. Each additional week in the womb added two points to a child’s score on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, which was used in conjunction with a neurological exam to measure results.

Our non-toxic immuno-oncology therapies at Issels® are personalized to account for lifestyle and other elements of your individual situation. Visit our website for more information about our innovative, state-of-the-art treatments as well as testimonials from our patients.

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!