Tag Archives: Fighting Cancer

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Care Tips, Cancer Caregivers, Living with Cancer

Cancer Treatment Fairness Act Pushed at Tennessee Legislature

Fighting For Fair Cancer Treatment
Fighting For Fair Cancer Treatment

While researchers continue to make progress with improvements in cancer treatments, it’s often financially prohibitive for patients to make use of them. This past January, Tennessee took a step toward joining 40 other states and the District of Columbia in making it easier for patients to get the most appropriate treatment available.

Senator Bill Ketron and Representative William Lamberth jointly introduced the Cancer Treatment Fairness Act in the state Senate and House. If passed, the legislation would equalize costs between traditional and newer cancer treatments.

The changing form of cancer treatments

Traditional treatments, which are usually administered via IV or injection, generally fall under regular health care benefits. As a result, patients are charged nominal co-pay or nothing at all.

Newer treatments, such as gene-targeted therapies, block the growth and spread of cancerous cells by interfering with specific molecules needed for tumor growth and progression. They also have the benefit of fewer side effects. Since they come in pill form, they are placed under a health care plan’s pharmacy coverage. The high out-of-pocket costs can force patients to discontinue treatment, even if it’s effective.

Why the Fairness Act is needed now

Access to oral medications will become even more important, as more than 25 percent of treatments in the works are in pill form. In addition to lower health care costs, oral cancer treatments have been shown to have a positive effect on patients’ quality of life.

Issels® has long been a leader in the use of integrative immunotherapy treatments to stimulate the body’s natural immune response. Contact us for more information about our special testing methods and innovative personalized therapies.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research, Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy Arises as the Closest Thing to Cure for Cancer Yet

The Cure is Coming
The Cure is Coming

For decades, the cure for cancer has been the holy grail of medical research. While there have been significant advances in treatment, an actual cure remains elusive. Thanks to its innovative approach, integrative immunotherapy has emerged as the closest thing to a cure for cancer.

What’s the difference between immunotherapy and conventional treatments?

Traditional chemotherapy can be effective, but it kills healthy cells along with cancer cells, leaving the door open for the disease to return. Immunotherapy is unique in that it trains the body’s own immune system to recognize and fight cancer cells, much as they do with a common cold.

James Larkin is a consultant at London’s Royal Marsden, the leading cancer hospital in the world. He explains that cancer can become resistant to conventional drugs, while immunotherapy works from the inside to boost the body’s natural resources. The idea is that the immune system is “programmed” to change in response to a tumor’s evolution.

A real-life success

Sandra Sayce is a living example of the benefits of integrative immunotherapy. The 52-year-old was originally treated for melanoma in 2001, when lesions were discovered on her lower leg. After the disease returned in 2005 and was diagnosed as stage four, she participated in a trial for an immunotherapy drug called ipilimumab. With no further treatment, the tumors disappeared and she has been cancer-free for nearly 10 years.

Issels® has long been at the forefront of the movement toward integrative immunotherapy. Our programs are individually designed to meet each patient’s specific needs. Visit our website for testimonials from the many people who have been successfully treated with our non-toxic protocols.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Care Tips, Cancer Research, Living with Cancer

Cancer Experts Find New Dietary Guidelines Lacking

Where Does Red Meat Fit In?
Where Does Red Meat Fit In?

Your 10-year-old may object to the omission of candy and pizza from the U.S. government’s eating guidelines. The revised version, issued this past January, has gained more influential critics who believe the guidelines don’t go far enough to discourage consumption of foods linked to cancer.

Is there a place for red meat in a healthy diet?

Katie McMahon of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network is one of the experts questioning the new guidelines, particularly the failure to recommend limiting red meats. Decades of research clearly indicates a link to development of cancer, which is one reason integrative immunotherapy considers lifestyle factors along with the disease itself.

Are industry lobbyists to blame?

The Health and Human Services Department and U.S. Department of Agriculture are the government agencies responsible for creating the guidelines. Lately they have come under fire from accusations of succumbing to pressure from meat industry lobbyists.

Dr. Walter Willett, head of the nutrition department at Harvard School of Public Health, is among those speaking out. He points out that consumption of red meat, even when it’s lean, has been shown to increase risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease as well as certain types of cancer.

Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell dismisses charges of catering to special interest groups. Alice Lichtenstein, a nutrition professor from Tufts University who was a member of the advisory committee, claims the guidelines were focused more on preventing chronic diseases such as diabetes than on cancer.

The integrative immunotherapy programs at Issels® address nutrition and other lifestyle factors. Visit our website for more information about our state-of-the-art non-toxic treatments.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Care Tips, Living with Cancer

Exercise and Improved Quality of Life for Cancer Patients

Exercise Tips For Cancer Patients
Exercise Tips For Cancer Patients

Exercise has long been considered an essential part of a healthy lifestyle. Recent analysis of past studies involving cancer patients shows that physical activity can have the same benefits for patients undergoing integrative immunotherapy and other treatments.

Can exercise really help cancer patients?

The study, reported by co-authors Dr. Arnaud Vincent and Jasper Gerittsen, was recently published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. The duo reviewed results of 16 earlier tests comparing the effects of exercise vs. inactivity in cancer patients. In general, those asked to increase their physical activity reported a greater quality of life than those in the control groups.

Improvements ranged from better overall body functioning to higher self-esteem. While exercise schedules varied from two to five times per week, there was no significant difference in results for patients with the greater frequency of sessions. One notable finding showed that patients who began exercising during treatment enjoyed both physical and mental benefits, while those who started after treatment saw only physical improvement.

Adding regular physical activity

Doctors and patients alike often believe that cancer treatment calls for more periods of rest, but this analysis may lead to a new perspective. Dr. Vincent explained that the spectrum of physical activity is wide enough to allow flexibility in adapting exercise appropriate for patients restricted to wheelchairs or beds.

Lifestyle is an important consideration in developing our personalized integrative immunotherapy programs. For decades, Issels® has been a leader in non-toxic protocols that reduce many of the serious side effects associated with traditional treatments. Contact us today to learn more about the Issels® difference.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research, Living with Cancer

Strategies to Improve Nutrition during Cancer Treatment

Cancer Nutrition Tips
Cancer Nutrition Tips

If you have cancer, side effects from treatment, as well as from the disease itself, can keep you from obtaining proper nutrition at a time when you need it most. While non-toxic immunotherapy reduces side effects, you may still experience difficulties eating and drinking.

Here are some of the more common problems you may encounter along with strategies to keep them from interfering with a healthy diet.

Nausea

  • Instead of three regular meals, eat smaller meals throughout the day.
  • Avoid spicy or other strong-tasting foods.
  • Stick with low-fat foods, which are easier to digest. Dry or salty foods can also minimize nausea.

Difficulty swallowing

  • Avoid foods with rough or dense textures.
  • Choose soft foods that can be eaten cold or at room temperature.

Poor appetite

  • Drink liquids at mealtime only as necessary. Consume the majority between meals.
  • Try protein drinks and other nutrient-rich commercially prepared beverages. These can also help if you struggle to meet nutritional needs through food alone.
  • “Graze” on smaller, more frequent meals.

Fatigue

  • Keep a variety of ready-to-eat items on hand.
  • Consume juices and other beverages that are high in nutritional value.
  • Ask family and loved ones to assist with buying appropriate foods and preparing meals and snacks to be stored for quick access.

Our Issels® non-toxic immunotherapy reduces side effects by stimulating your body’s natural immune responses. All treatments are personalized for best results based on your individual lifestyle, environment and genetic predisposition. Visit our website for more information about our cancer vaccines and other integrative programs.

Cancer Research, News

The Link between Energy Sensing-Enzymes and Cancer

Worker in a lab
Cancer Vaccines

Part of the success of cancer vaccines lies in their ability to target the tumor microenvironment along with the tumor itself. A recent breakthrough shows similar promise as a way to cut off the energy molecules that fuel the growth of cancer cells.

A research team led by Dr. Atsuo Sasaki, an assistant professor at the University Of Cincinnati College Of Medicine, discovered that an enzyme called PI5PK4ß acts as a virtual “arrow on a fuel gauge” with regard to cancer growth. The enzyme functions by sensing available amounts of energy and communicating that information to cancer cells.

Until now, the identity of such a molecular sensor remained unknown. In fact, Dr. Sasaki and his associates initially met with skepticism regarding their study, which has since been published in Molecular Cell.

Cells are fueled by two types of energy molecules. Adenosine triphosphate, or ATP, provides most of the necessary energy. Guanosine triphosphate, referred to as GTP, is used to synthesize protein and also acts as a traffic cop directing various cellular processes.

PI5PK4ß acts as a GTP sensor by recognizing and binding itself to the molecules. Dr. Sasaki’s team was able to interrupt the process by designing mutant PI5PK4ß cells that lacked the ability to detect GTP. According to Dr. Sasaki, their hope is to use this discovery to develop a means of cutting off this energy source from cancer cells.

Cancer vaccines are only one of the tools available in our Issels® integrative immunotherapy programs. Visit our website for more details about our individualized treatment protocols as well as testimonials from our patients.