Category Archives: Testimonials

Immunotherapy, Testimonials

Patients Call Results of Immunotherapy Cancer Treatment “Miraculous”

Alternative Cancer Treatment
Alternative Cancer Treatment

Cancer researchers and physicians involved in clinical trials are calling a new immunotherapy treatment for cancer “a breakthrough.” Patients are calling it “a miracle.” A form of immunotherapy, the new cancer treatment is called immune-checkpoint blockade. An advanced targeted cancer therapy, the treatment uses chemically produced monoclonal antibodies to target specific molecules on cell surfaces. The antibodies clear roadblocks created by the cancer cells themselves that can hinder the immune system’s natural ability to protect itself. With roadblocks removed, immune system cells are free to attack and annihilate cancer cells. The results have been impressive and appear to be long-term.

“Research activity is just going through the roof,” Johns Hopkins University cancer immunologist Suzanne Topalian told the Washington Post, noting that the therapy is being tested on melanoma, lung and kidney cancers with smaller trials on a laundry list of other cancers. In five years, many immunologists expect checkpoint inhibitors and other immunotherapy treatments to be used as primary cancer treatments for the majority of advanced cancer cases diagnosed in the U.S. That would be a considerable and welcome departure from American medicine’s current dependency on surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.

Immune-checkpoint blockade has startling similarities to the integrative immunotherapy that has been practiced at Issels Integrative Oncology Centers for decades. However, where the new technique uses chemically engineered antibodies, Issels’ integrative immunotherapy is completely non-toxic, using autologous vaccines prepared from the patient’s own blood to enhance the natural immune system response of cytokines, natural killer cells, LAK cells and T-cells. (Click the link for an explanation of how these immune factors interact.)

At Issels alternative cancer treatment centers we have been practicing integrative immunotherapy for more than 60 years, so it is naturally gratifying to see Western medicine walking in our footsteps.

Cancer Research, Testimonials

Mexican Research Supports Alternative Cancer Treatment for Lung Cancer

2 Comments
Alternative Lung Cancer Treatment
Alternative Lung Cancer Treatment

New lung cancer research being conducted in Mexico appears to parallel alternative cancer treatments developed by Issels Integrative Oncology and in use at our Alternative Cancer Treatment Centers for years. According to EurasiaReview.com, researchers at Mexico’s National Institute of Respiratory Diseases are working on developing a lung cancer treatment that would use the patient’s own blood to boost immune system function. We are naturally pleased to see other cancer researchers following in our footprints.

A key component of our well-established integrative immunotherapy cancer treatment program, Issels’ cutting-edge, non-toxic autologous cancer vaccines are cultured from the patient’s own blood. Using the patient’s blood both maximizes immune system response and, because nothing foreign is being introduced into the body, removes the issue of toxicity that creates so many problems for chemotherapy and radiation patients.

“We are developing at the lab a system of cell activation from the patient’s own blood so it can eliminate its tumors,” the institute’s lead researcher, Patricia Gorocica, told Eurasia Review. Gorocica and her team are part of a growing movement in Western medicine that now shares our view that the future of cancer treatment lays within the body’s immune system. For more than 60 years, Issels has been a leader in the use of individualized immunotherapy to fight cancer. It is gratifying to find increasing recognition of our core treatment values.

The Institute’s push for new lung cancer treatments has been spurred by an uptick in worldwide lung cancer rates which researchers believe may be related as much to increased pollution particulate and smoke from burning timber and coal as cigarette smoking, particularly in developing countries.

For more information on autologous cancer vaccines alternative cancer treatments, and supporting research, visit our website.

Cancer Survivors, News, Testimonials

20% Drop in Cancer Death Rates Over Past 20 Years

Declining Cancer Death Rates
Declining Cancer Death Rates

The New Year is starting out with some good news. According to the recently released American Cancer Society annual report, cancer death rates continue to drop. Over the past 20 years, U.S. cancer death rates have declined steadily, decreasing the overall risk of dying from cancer by 20%. That 20% represents about 1.3 million lives, Ahmedin Jemal, ACS vice president for surveillance and health services research and lead author of the 2014 report, told Fox News.

This latest analysis of cancer statistics also shows significant progress in reducing cancer deaths among certain high-risk population groups. Among the report’s more interesting findings was a 55% decrease in cancer death rates for middle-aged black men.

While the number of cancer deaths has been steadily decreasing since 1991, the report notes that the incidence of cancer has remained steady. The 2014 report estimates that 1,665,540 new cancer cases will be diagnosed in the U.S. this year and that 585,720 people — about 1,600 per day — will die of cancer in the coming year.

However, as Jamal pointed out to Fox News, the decrease in cancer death rates is of greater importance than cancer incidence. As the U.S. population ages, the size of the baby boomer generation, the increased risk of cancer that accompanies aging and improvements in cancer detection methods can be expected to drive up the number of cancer cases. The declining death rate, however, is clear evidence of improvement in U.S. cancer prevention and treatment programs.

Jemal linked improved cancer outcomes to both medical and behavioral changes that have occurred over the past 20 years. The new emphasis on immunotherapy is redefining cancer treatment and calling new attention to the benefits of Issels’ immunobiologic-based alternative cancer tre

atments.

Living with Cancer, Testimonials

Valerie Harper on Cancer Part 2: Being Prepared for the End Can Free You to Live Now

Cancer
Cancer

For actress Valerie Harper, getting her affairs in order and making decisions about end-of-life issues after being diagnosed with inoperable cancer (see our previous post) was a necessary part of taking care of her family. But in making sure that she was prepared for the end of life when it came, she found a sense of peace that freed her to live life to the fullest.

In an interview published in the October/November 2013 of AARP Magazine, Valerie said she facing the possibility of death head on; but her husband, Tony Cacciotti, “didn’t want to discuss it.”

“Most people don’t do it because they think it’s never gonna happen to them or that by talking about death you speed up the process,” Tony said. But with coaxing from Valerie, the couple saw a lawyer to update their wills and draft healthcare directives spelling out the types of medical care they did and did not want to receive in their final days.

It was during those discusses when Valerie voiced a wish to be cremated that Tony was finally able to overcome his reluctance about dealing with end-of-life arrangements. “I wanted to be buried next to her,” he told AARP. “That meant I had to muster my fear and deal with the cemetery thing.” The couple chose a plot in Hollywood Forever where many of Hollywood’s most famous stars are buried and, to Valerie’s delight, peacocks roam the gardens. “It’s a life-giving place,” Valerie said.

Valerie encourages everyone, not just people undergoing cancer treatment, to talk to their families and discuss their wishes about life-and-death.

Cancer Survivors, Testimonials

Angelina Jolie Reveals Decision to Undergo Preventive Double Mastectomy

Breast Cancer Awareness
Breast Cancer Awareness

In a New York Times op-ed column, actress Angelina Jolie shocked many people by revealing that she had undergone preventive double mastectomy after learning she carries the BRCA1 gene which is known to significantly increase the risk of breast cancer and uterine cancer. Supported by husband Brad Pitt, Ms. Jolie’s decision to “be proactive and to minimize the risk as much as I could” was driven in large part by her mother’s long-term cancer battle and early death at the age of 56. In sharing her decision, Ms. Jolie lamented the fact that only one of her six children had the opportunity to know their grandmother before her death.

“My chances of developing breast cancer have dropped from 87% to under 5%,” Ms. Jolie said. “I can tell my children that they don’t need to fear they will lose me to breast cancer.”

Ms. Jolie is not the first high-profile celebrity to choose preventive double mastectomy. In 2008, actress Christina Applegate had both breasts removed after surviving breast cancer to prevent its return. However, Ms. Jolie represents a growing new movement among high-risk cancer patients to act before cancer strikes.

The desire to take aggressive preventive action before receiving a cancer diagnosis has been fueled by the discovery of genetic defects — BRCA1 and BRCA2 –directly linked to a high risk of breast cancer. Coupled with the high incidence of breast cancer among women, discovery that they carry a genetic marker for breast cancer seems to stoke the natural fear cancer provokes.

Preventive surgery is one way to deal with cancer fear, but it is not the only choice.

To be continued

Stress Management, Testimonials

Massage Therapy May Help Cancer Patients Manage Stress

1 Comment
Massage Therapy May Help to Relieve Stress.
Massage therapy may be a treatment program to discuss with your Issels physician.

Cancer patients may realize “profound” benefits from massage therapy. In a new study reported on Fox News, brain cancer patients experienced significant stress relief after receiving massage treatments. As the report noted, brain cancer can affect patients’ physical and cognitive functioning. Cancer tumors’ interference with brain function can also lead to challenging secondary mental disorders. Brain cancer patients suffer a high rate of depression often caused by the stress of traditional cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation treatments, as well as by the progress of their disease.In the study, brain cancer patients who received massage therapy twice a week for four weeks experienced a remarkable decrease in stress levels. Patients who at the beginning of the study suffered from severe stress scored below diagnostic stress detection by the end of their 4-week treatment.

“This is more significant than I would have expected,” Dr. Keri Peterson of the American Massage Therapy Association told Fox News.

Prior to the study, the majority of participants expressed concerns common to most cancer patients, including sadness, worry, nervousness, pain, tiredness, trouble sleeping, fear, depression, eating, constipation, nausea, dry skin and tingling sensations. At the end of the 4-week treatment protocol, concern about common cancer stressors was significantly reduced, by as much as 60% for some issues.

As a group, brain cancer patients enjoyed improved feelings of emotional, physical and social well-being. Post-treatment testing revealed that benefits began to fade when massage therapy was discontinued, although patients’ stress levels remained lower than they were initially. Continued massage therapy is an option you may want to discuss with your Issels treatment specialists.