Tag Archives: Breast Cancer

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research, Living with Cancer

Doorway in Blood Vessels Allows Breast Cancer to Spread Via the Blood

Breast Cancer Awareness Ribbon
Breast Cancer Can Be Spread Through The Blood

What if you could literally close the door on metastasizing cancer? A recent U.S. study has discovered this doorway, and Issels® wants to let you in on the latest findings and how they might benefit your cancer treatment goals…

Escape artists
When three specific types of cells work together, cancer can escape into the blood stream. Their plan?

  • Cancer cells near blood vessels interact with macrophages, a type of white blood cell.
  • The macrophages release a protein, called vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which increases the permeability or leakiness of endothelial cells in the blood vessel wall.
  • A doorway is temporarily created, through which cancer cells escape and spread into the bloodstream.

The right environment
Previously, what regulated the permeability of blood vessel walls at the escape site wasn’t clear. However thanks to the new imaging studies, the mechanism has been identified: macrophages at the tumor microenvironment of metastasis (TMEM), or TMEM macrophages.

Closing the door
While the VGEF protein produced by macrophages in the aforementioned escape process is already the target of existing cancer drugs, the recent study shows how this leakiness – cancer’s escape hatch – can be switched on and off by TMEM macrophages – the specific immune cells playing accomplice to the great escape.

A new frontier
The work performed on mice and building on previous findings from the Albert Einstein Cancer Center and Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care, could lead to new drugs for preventing the spread of cancer.

Are your ready to close the door on cancer treatment? Kick cancer out for good and throw away the key with the help of Issels® today!

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research, Uncategorized

Researchers Predict a Rise in Breast Cancer

Cancer Detection
Researchers Predict A Rise In Breast Cancer

At Issels® Integrative Immuno-Oncology, we pay close attention to research about cancer trends from around the world to help us improve our precision treatment methods.

According to research results announced in April by Dr. Philip Rosenberg, Ph.D of the National Cancer Institute’s Division of Cancer, Epidemiology and Genetics, Americans will see several new breast cancer trends by 2030.

Age Matters

Longer lifespans will result in more breast cancer cases:

  • Dr. Rosenberg predicts a more than 50 percent rise in breast cancer cases, including an estimated 11 percent increase in older women.
  • Women who live into their 70’s and early 80’s are at a higher risk of getting ER-positive in situ cancer (i.e. tumors caused by estrogen that are confined to the breasts).
  • ER-positive in situ cases will increase overall by an estimated 10 percent.

Hopeful News

Whether you have cancer or not, it’s important to remember the following:

  • These predictions were based on other predictions and assumptions — for example, that mammography will remain a major detection method.
  • The predictions were also based on incomplete and old data, including U.S. Census Bureau data, aggregate details about 500,000 patients diagnosed with cancer in the years up through 2010 and total cancer case numbers from 2011.
  • If the predictions are accurate, at least one group will deal less with certain breast cancers: a 10 percent decrease in overall cases for those ages 50 to 69.
  • Dr. Rosenberg also predicts an 8 percent decrease in the number of ER-negative in situ and invasive cancers that are difficult to treat.

To learn more about this study, cancer trends and/or our treatment options, contact our expert and caring Issels® staff today.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research, Living with Cancer, Uncategorized

New Breast Cancer Gene Plaguing Polish and French Canadians Discovered

Cancer Gene
The Breast Cancer Gene

One of the biggest challenges associated with preventing and curing breast cancer is that there appears to be several genes that are associated with the mutations that cause this cancer. Scientists and researchers have been working to identify all the potential causes and have recently made a real breakthrough. At the University of Toronto, researchers discovered that the gene RECQL is responsible for mutations in both Polish and French Canadian women.

Hereditary Breast Cancer

This research study has been focused on types of breast cancer that are inherited, which represent about 10% of all cases. By looking closely at over 20,000 cases, scientists were able to find a strong pattern of occurrence in these two populations. This information provides valuable insight into the behavior or cancer and the role of genetics. In fact, the study revealed that Polish women with the mutation are five times more likely to get breast cancer and the risk for French Canadian women is multiplied 50 times.

Targeted Treatment

While this information has yet to be used to change treatment methods, it does provide hope for future innovations. Not only can women be tested for the gene, in order to identify the likelihood that they will get breast cancer, but scientists anticipate being able to design targeted treatments around each specific genetic mutation.

This individualized approach to creating a treatment plan falls in line with Issels® philosophy about patient care. Not every woman acquires cancer through the same route, so why would everyone receive the same type of treatment? Continued research on the role of genetics in specific populations of people could lead to more effective treatment methods in the future, so stay tuned.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research, Living with Cancer

UK Breast Cancer Patients Waiting Too Long for Diagnosis

UK Patients are Waiting Too Long For Diagnosis
UK Patients are Waiting Too Long For Diagnosis

At Issels®, our programs have focused on our patients for over 60 years. This includes providing patients with support and information along with the most current natural cancer treatments.

A recent report in The Guardian news in the UK notes that “17 percent of women diagnosed with breast cancer waited for over a month to see a GP.” Even when the patients recognized symptoms, they chose to wait. Another worrisome poll by YouGov concerning breast cancer care states “one in 20 women wait more than six months” to see a doctor which decreases the opportunity to provide effective treatment at the earliest stages of their cancer.

Many of the women who prolonged visiting their GP convinced themselves the symptoms they exhibited were not serious. A significant number admitted they were too scared to schedule a doctor visit because they were afraid their fears would be validated.

Unfortunately, ignoring the symptoms of breast cancer, whether because of fear or denial, does nothing to tackle the cancer cells. Not seeing a doctor to get a proper diagnosis only allows the cancer cells to multiply.

Early diagnosis is the key to getting a jump start on the disease and patients are strongly urged to schedule an appointment, as soon as possible, whenever one or  more of cancer symptoms are present.

At our centers, patients receive immunotherapy along with other types of treatment and care with the use of non-toxic medications. Our goal is providing treatment and helping patients navigate through each step. For this to happen, it’s important to follow through with doctor visits.

If you have questions about breast cancer and need information about our programs, please contact our center.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Stage Four Cancer Treatment

The Realities of Living with Stage 4 Breast Cancer

Breast Cancer Awareness
Stage 4 Breast Cancer

While organizations like Susan G. Komen have promoted the importance of early detection in defeating breast cancer, there is another group that struggles to be heard. Women with Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer (MBC) are working to educate the public about the realities of living with what they refer to as “mets”.

Treating MBC

Cancer becomes metastatic when it travels through the blood to create tumors in the lungs, liver and other parts of the body. Between 20 and 30 percent of women who are diagnosed with early stage breast cancer will develop MBC, which is treatable but not curable.

Jody Schoger, an MBC patient and cancer awareness advocate, explains the difference in philosophy for treating both types. She says that when she received her initial diagnosis, her doctors pulled out all the stops in an attempt to put the tumor in permanent remission. With MBC, however, the best they can hope for is to stabilize the disease so they use a minimum of treatment needed to obtain the maximum effect.

Misconceptions about MBC

Women with MBC are frustrated that the focus on “survivorship” has resulted in a number of erroneous concepts about the disease. Pfizer Oncology surveyed 2,000 people on the topic and found that 60 percent of respondents knew little to nothing about MBC and 50 percent believed that it was a result of patients not taking care of themselves.

At Issels® we see you as an individual, not as your disease. Our treatments are personalized to address your particular needs. Contact us to learn more about our non-toxic alternative treatment program.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research

The Hormone, called Irisin May Provide Breast Cancer Protection

Resistance Training
Using Exercise To Fight Breast Cancer

Exercising on a regular basis could help prevent breast cancer thanks to a hormone known as irisin. In the latest cancer research news, scientists at the University of New Mexico concluded that irisin, which is released from muscles after exercising, might provide protection from breast cancer. Its effects on the body might also improve the effectiveness of breast cancer treatment.

Effects of Irisin

Researchers targeted cancerous and non-cancerous breast cells with genetically engineered irisin. The results showed that irisin destroyed cancerous cells but left non-cancerous cells alone. After being exposed to the hormone, the number of cancerous cells decreased by 34 percent. Irisin also reduced cell migration by 51 percent, which could indicate that the hormone is able to slow down or prevent the spread of cancerous cells to other parts of the body.

Exercise and Cancer Prevention

These cancer research findings have shed some light on the reason why exercise plays an important role in cancer prevention and treatment. Other studies have established an association between working out and having a lower risk of cancer. The UNM study focused on how chemicals produced by the body during exercise, specifically irisin, might have an effect on breast cancer. In addition to destroying cancerous cells, irisin also stays in the body for long periods of time, which provides even greater protection against cancer. While additional studies still need to be done, researchers are hopeful that these findings will encourage exercise as a form of cancer prevention and treatment.

To learn about non-toxic cancer treatments, please contact Issels®. We offer immunotherapy and other forms of non-toxic treatment methods for many different types of cancer.