Category Archives: Living with Cancer

Living with Cancer, Stress Management

Living with Cancer – Attitude is Everything in Living with Cancer

 

Attitude Is Everything
Attitude Is Everything

Attitude is everything whether the cancer diagnosis is for a family member, friend or you, the aftermath of diagnosis is often devastating. A range of emotions are soaring through your mind, and you’re wondering if you have what it takes to beat this disease. Fortunately, when you equip yourself with the right attitude, used in conjunction with traditional or alternative cancer treatment programs, you can build the strength necessary to fight with all you have.

Changing your attitude about any situation is difficult, and you’ll want to make sure to surround yourself with people who support your cause. Build a team of support whether it’s through family members, your church group or all of your best friends from college. Positive attitudes can have a profound effect on you well-being. Once you have found that group, you can also begin to focus on what it is that you are fighting for.

You might be fighting to live longer for your children, or you may be fighting because you don’t feel as though you’ve completed your journey here yet. Setting a goal and giving you a passion for the journey are two powerful tools. This positive attitude can also be tied to religion or spirituality. By connecting yourself to God or a higher power, you can tap into a powerful force that helps you to retain your positive “I can win” attitude.

Incorporating religion or spirituality of some type into your “I can win” attitude lets you know that you are not alone. Prayer and meditation can also be a part of your plan as you work to enhance attitude.

Consider using immune boosting programs to get your mind, body and spirit all in line with one another. No matter what your treatment plan is be sure to discuss all of your goals and ideas with your doctor first to ensure that you are moving in the “right” direction.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Living with Cancer

Quality of Life Benefits Drive Mainstream Adoption of Alternative Cancer Treatments

Acupuncture
Acupuncture

In what many consider to be a revolutionary change in traditional medical thinking, alternative cancer treatments are going mainstream. With a growing number of studies and mounting clinical evidence pointing to the quality of life benefits of many alternative treatments, practitioners of Western medicine have begun adopting alternative cancer therapies.

“Rebirth” of Alternative Cancer Therapies

Once given short shrift by traditional oncologists, acupuncture, autohemotherapy, massage therapy, hyperthermia, phytotherapy and a lengthy list of beneficial alternative cancer therapies are undergoing “rebirth” as the traditional cancer community recognizes their quality of life benefits in the light of new research revealing the importance of immunotherapy in fighting cancer.

Alternative treatments are not new, but have been used to battle disease or ease its symptoms for thousands of years, as these examples indicate:

  • Acupuncture has been an accepted and respected treatment procedure in traditional Chinese medicine since ancient times.
  •  The use of herbal medicine, or phytotherapy, dates back to man’s earliest attempts to treat disease and has historical significance in nearly every human culture.
  •  The therapeutic use of massage therapy also has its roots in antiquity. The Greek physician Hippocrates, considered to be the Father of Medicine, wrote about the therapeutic benefits of “rubbing” in the 5th century B.C.

Everything Old Is New Again

What is “new” in Western medical circles is recognition of the validity of these ancient therapies and their ability to enhance cancer treatment and mitigate the pain and side effects of traditional cancer treatments.

For more than 60 years, Issels Integrative Oncology has incorporated beneficial alternative cancer therapies into our personalized immunobiologic core treatment for cancer as part of our comprehensive program of integrative immunotherapy.

Cancer Research, Living with Cancer

Can Fasting Boost Your Immune System?

Fasting To Build The Immune System
Fasting To Build The Immune System

A new study by University of Southern California researchers suggests that a three-day fast may jump-start the body’s immune system by triggering the production of new white blood cells. USC scientists believe that medically monitored fasting could help cancer patients, the elderly and others with damaged immune systems regenerate healthy immune systems. If initial results are upheld, the discovery could add a potent tool to the practice of integrative immunotherapy and the non-toxic treatment of cancer.

Regenerating White Blood Cells

Your immune system is your body’s natural line of defense against disease and white blood cells form its front lines. In USC patient trials, prolonged fasting forced the breakdown of white blood cells, especially damaged cells, which triggered stem cell regeneration of healthy new white blood cells.

Cancer places serious strain on the immune system. Some cancer treatments, particularly chemotherapy, can seriously damage your immune system, leaving you with little natural defense against cancer. If medically monitored fasting is proven to regenerate the immune system, it could be a game-changer in the treatment of cancer.

Supercharging Your Immune System

Integrative immunotherapy has already been shown to improve quality of life both during and after cancer treatment. By tapping the power of your body’s immune system and enhancing the ability of immune cells to target cancerous tumors and the tumor microenvironments that affect the growth and spread of cancer, integrative immunotherapy works with your body to defeat cancer naturally without harming surrounding healthy tissue. By aiding regeneration of the immune system, it might be possible for fasting therapy to “supercharge” your immune system’s ability to fight cancer.

Please visit our website for more information on integrative immunotherapy.

Cancer Research, Living with Cancer

Friends and Family Rally to Promote Cancer Research and Awareness

Family Portrait
Family Members Supporting a Cancer Patient

It’s difficult to find anyone whose life hasn’t been touched by cancer. The person in front of you at the grocery store or sitting next to you in the movie theater could tell you about a family member or co-worker diagnosed with the disease. Inspired by their courage, these friends and family members carry on a message of hope by working to find a cure.

At the age of 31, Detroit-area attorney Jacqueline Bailey was diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer. Her two-year battle led her caring friends to create a legacy for her by founding the Jacqueline E. Bailey Foundation. Ms. Bailey’s wish was that no other 31-year-old woman would have to receive similar news. The foundation has partnered with the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute to fund an early detection test for ovarian cancer.

Cyclist Maria Parker’s motivation came from her sister Jenny Mulligan, diagnosed with stage four brain cancer in 2012. Maria entered the 2013 Race Across America to raise money and awareness for cancer research. When mid-race problems caused her to consider quitting, a conversation with her sister spurred her on. Her inspiration led Maria to finish first in the women’s group while setting a record in her 50+ age range. Jenny’s son Timothy filmed a documentary of the experience with which he and Maria hope to raise $1 million for ABC2, a brain cancer reorganization.

The love and support of friends and family is an important source of strength when receiving a diagnosis of stage four cancer. Our alternative cancer therapy uses a personal approach to ensure that we address your specific needs.

Cancer Care Tips, Living with Cancer

Understanding Your Diagnosis of Cancer

Getting The News
Getting The News

Our greatest fears usually arise not from actual incidents, but from the unknown. Your mind begins running through a series of increasingly dire scenarios that may not even be realistic. If you’ve recently received a diagnosis of cancer, understanding what’s behind it can empower you to be proactive about your care and treatment.

Early diagnosis of cancer is an important element of successful treatment. Some types, such as skin or breast, may be detected through self-examination or various medical screenings. Others are revealed via corresponding symptoms or as a result of treating another condition. This is why it’s important to keep up with annual physicals and other preventive care, even if you’re feeling healthy.

Your caregiver’s first step will be a comprehensive physical exam and thorough review of your medical history. Tests are performed on blood, stool and urine to find any abnormalities that may point toward cancer. If signs present themselves, your physician will order further tests such as CT scans, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or ultrasound to pinpoint the location and size of the tumor. Final confirmation comes from a biopsy, which involves removing a tissue sample from the tumor to check for the presence of cancerous cells.

A positive diagnosis leads to the step known as staging. This process involves gathering specific information about the tumor, most importantly whether it’s localized or the cells have spread to other parts of the body. You should also get a second opinion from a specialist before proceeding with treatment.

At Issels alternative cancer treatment center, our integrative approach is tailored to your individual needs. Please visit our website to learn more about our successful non-toxic immunotherapy treatments.

Living with Cancer, Uncategorized

Fault in Our Stars Faithfully Portrays Teens Coping with Cancer

The Fault in Our Stars
The Fault in Our Stars

Take tissues if you go see the new hit movie The Fault in Our Stars. The story of two teens with cancer who fall in love has a few weepy moments sandwiched between the romance, self-discovery and laughs. A faithful retelling of John Green’s best-selling young adult novel, the movie faithfully portrays the emotional highs and lows of teens trying to cope with cancer while struggling to live a normal life. (Click here to watch the trailer.)

The Plot

Hazel and Gus, played by Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort, meet at a cancer support group. She has thyroid cancer, is depressed and must drag around an oxygen canister, an ever-present reminder of cancer’s life-shortening reality and the fact that she is different from the other teens at her high school. He is a basketball star who lost a leg to osteosarcoma but, now 18 months in remission, chooses to celebrate life.

The Lesson

Gus’ ebullient outlook is the perfect antithesis to Hazel’s dour view of life with cancer. While ultimately heartbreaking as childhood cancer often is, their summer romance is a story of hope and overcoming fear as they plunge into life with teenage abandon. Without the specter of cancer lurking in the wings, The Fault in Our Stars might have been merely another sweet teen romance on the summer movie circuit. But the threat that cancer will bring young hopes and dreams to an abrupt halt elevates the movie, reminding us that life is short and should be embraced and lived.

At Issels Integrative Oncology even stage 4 cancer stories can have a happy outcome. Click to hear our patients stories in their own words.