Tag Archives: Fighting Cancer

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

Can Your Body Be Trained to Cure Its Own Cancer?

Can You Train To Fight Cancer?
Can You Train To Fight Cancer?

For decades, cancer patients have been limited to a trio of treatment options. While surgery, chemotherapy and radiation have their effectiveness, they also have serious drawbacks that can compromise quality of life. Continued research in the area of immunotherapy is uncovering its power to fight cancer naturally while preserving the body’s healthy cells.

The exciting concept behind immunotherapy is that uses the power of the body’s own immune system to essentially treat itself. Unlike chemotherapy, the immune system is more adaptive and able to distinguish between healthy tissue and invaders such as cancer cells. Consider the example of childhood vaccines, which remain effective over time thanks to the immune system’s memory.

One of the biggest breakthroughs came in a 2013 study conducted by Bristol-Myers Squibb. A group of 52 melanoma patients was treated with one approved and one experimental drug. Nearly one-third experienced rapid and deep tumor regression. As study leader Dr. Jedd Wolchok observed, “We have spent several decades in cancer research learning better ways to treat the tumor. Now we are learning how to treat the patient.”

Dr. David Maloney has been working on targeted cancer therapies since he was a student at Stanford in the early 1980s. He’s currently focused on a procedure wherein a patient is infused with his own T-cells that have been harvested and genetically re-engineered to become better cancer “drones”. He cites the benefit of immunotherapy as a move away from a “one-size-fits-all” approach to customized treatments.

For more than 60 years, Issels has been on the forefront of integrative immuno-oncology treatments. Visit our website to read and hear first-hand testimonials from our patients.

Cancer Research, Cancer Survivors

Diagnostic Blood Test Could Speed Cancer Treatment

Cancer Research
Cancer Research

“Promising” is the word British scientists are using to describe early results of a simple blood test that could revolutionize cancer diagnosis and speed cancer treatment. Developed by researchers at the University of Bradford in the United Kingdom, the Lymphocyte Genome Sensitivity (LGS) test may turn out to be the easy to administer, inexpensive and accurate diagnostic tool the cancer treatment community has been searching for.

How It Works

Named for the type of white blood cell it examines, the Lymphocyte Genome Sensitivity test searches for cancer-related DNA damage in cells that have been bombarded with varying degrees of ultraviolet light.

“White blood cells are part of the body’s natural defense system,” study leader Professor Diana Anderson explains on the University’s website. “We know that they are under stress when they are fighting cancer or other diseases, so I wondered whether anything measurable could be seen if we put them under further stress with UVA light. We found that people with cancer have DNA which is more easily damaged by ultraviolet light than other people.”

What It Means

The ability to diagnose cancer with a blood test that measures immune system response would decrease the need for more costly and invasive tests and biopsies. In early testing, UV damage to white blood cell DNA was able to accurately differentiate between healthy, pre-cancerous and cancerous cells. DNA damage to white blood cells became measurably more pronounced as cancer developed and advanced.

The test underscores the connection between the immune system and cancer development. By strengthening the body’s immune system, Issels integrative immunotherapy has helped many of our patients achieve complete long-term remission of advanced and therapy-resistant cancers.

Alternative Cancer Treatment

Types of Prostate Cancer

Prostate Cancer
Prostate Cancer

The most common cancer in American men with the exception of skin cancer, 1 in 7 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime. Though most men with prostate cancer will not die from it, it can be a serious disease.

Acinar Adenocarcinoma is the most common form of prostate cancer
Acinar adenocarcinoma begins in the gland cells in the prostate, and comprise more than 90 percent of prostate cancers, including atrophic, foamy, colloid and signet ring carcinoma. All subtypes of acinar adenocarcinoma are treated in the same fashion. Though the majority of these cancers grow slowly, some can grow more quickly.

Other rare forms of prostate cancer, comprising the remaining 10 percent include:

  • Ductal adenocarcinoma
    Originates in the cells lining the ducts (tubes) of the prostate gland. Spreads more quickly than acinar adenocarcinoma. Some men have advanced cases when diagnosed.
  • Transitional cell (urothelial cancer)
    Begins in the cells lining the urethra, the tube for carrying urine outside the body. Typically begins in the bladder and spreads to the prostate.
  • Squamous cell cancer
    Arises from the flat cells covering the prostate. Also spreads more quickly than adenocarcinoma, making advanced cases common.
  • Carcinoid of the prostate
    Starting from cells of the neuroendocrine system, specialized nerve and gland cells, these tumors are rare and slow-growing.
  • Small cell cancer
    A type of neuroendocrine tumor comprised of small, round cells. Does not raise PSA, so it is difficult to detect early.
  • Sarcoma and sarcomatoid cancer
    A mixture of sarcoma and adenocarcinoma cells and originating from muscle cells, this cancer, including leiomyosarcoma, can grow quite quickly.

Suffering from prostate cancer? Contact Issels www.issels.com  today to learn more about our natural cancer treatment approach with immunotherapy.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research

Advances in Genetics Boost Success of New Immunotherapy for Cancer

Advances In Genetics
Advances In Genetics

Thanks to the advancement of gene sequencing techniques such as high-throughput genome sequencing, capable of breaking down an entire genome in a single day, a new cancer cell therapy treatment may become available to patients.

Successfully used to treat Melinda Bachini, a 45 year old Montana woman suffering from a rare bile-duct cancer after standard chemotherapy failed and resulted in hair loss and nerve damage, Bachini researched and decided to try the new experimental cancer therapy.

Reported in the journal Science, Dr. Steven Rosenberg’s team at the National Cancer Institute used a combination of cutting-edge genomics and recent insights into the human immune system. They identified specific CD4 T-cells  attacking the cancer in Bachini’s body, then literally pulled them off the tumor they were attacking and grew them in lab to later re-infuse into Bachini.

Treating Bachini first with strong chemotherapy to kill competing immune cells, she then underwent 2 rounds of this new treatment. The first reduced symptoms immediately and proceeded to shrink the tumors over 6 months. A second became necessary when the tumors began to grow back. All the mutations present in the cancer – and their associated T-Cells – had to be isolated, grown, and re-infused in order to eradicate the tumors.

This new immunotherapy for cancer is hoped to be used as a blueprint for attacking other types of cancers. Bachini’s case was the first to be treated with this personalized approach and also the first time doctors have been able to target a specific mutation in the immune system. It is anticipated further research into this alternative cancer therapy will provide additional treatment options for a wide array of cancers in the not-too-distant future.

Cancer Research, Living with Cancer

More Breast Cancer Myths and Facts

Breast Cancer Myths BustedAwareness Month
Breast Cancer Myths Busted

Twenty-five years ago breast cancer was considered a fatal diagnosis. But medical advancements and aggressive screening programs have resulted in a dramatic 34% drop in fatality rates and an astounding 98% increase in five-year survival rates. There are now more than 2.9 million breast cancer survivors enjoying life in America today!

Despite the amount of publicity breast cancer generates, many myths remain. Today, we continue our previous post separating fact from myth:

Truth About Mastectomy

Myth: Preventive mastectomy is the best way to prevent breast cancer if you carry the BRCA gene mutation.

Fact: Many cancer treatment experts feel that actress Angelina Jolie’s highly publicized decision to have both breasts removed after discovering that she carries the BRCA mutation did women a disservice. In the wake of her decision, fear of BRCA soared along with demand for preventive mastectomies.

Each breast cancer case is as unique as the woman it affects and demands a personalized approach to treatment. Treatment decisions should not based on the celebrity decisions but should be made in consultation with your cancer specialist. Mastectomy is only one breast cancer treatment option and is not warranted in many cases, even for women who carry the BRCA genetic mutation.

Better Treatment Options

Myth: Surgery, chemotherapy and radiation are the only ways to treat breast cancer.

Fact: The debilitating side effects of traditional cancer treatments have more breast cancer patients turning to integrated immunotherapy, either as a primary or complementary treatment. In combination with traditional treatments, many immunotherapy patients experience fewer and less severe side effects, faster recovery and better health after treatment.

Visit our website to find out more about immunotherapy treatments for cancer.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Living with Cancer, Uncategorized

Breast Cancer Myths and Facts

Breast Cancer Information
Breast Cancer Information

One in eight American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer during her lifetime. Despite its prevalence, the chances of surviving breast cancer have improved dramatically over the past decade. But old myths still abound. Get the facts below:

Not Just for Women

Myth: Only women get breast cancer.

Fact: While breast cancer strikes women far more frequently than men, more than 2,000 men are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. By comparison, more than 200,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer annually, about one every two minutes.

Myth: Breast cancer only strikes older women.

Fact: While it is true that breast cancer risk increases with age, breast cancer can strike women of any age. The median age for breast cancer diagnosis in the U.S. is 61 for white women and 57 for black women; but with average life expectancies in the mid-80s, cancer survivors can expect to enjoy many years of active life.

Better Survival Rates

Myth: Breast cancer is the No. 1 cause of cancer death among American women.

Fact: Lung cancer claims the lives of more U.S. women annually than breast cancer, but breast cancer is the top cancer killer of women between the ages of 40 and 59. Breast cancer kills more than 40,000 American women each year.

Myth: Few women survive breast cancer.

Fact: Your chances of surviving breast cancer have never been better. Early detection and improvements in breast cancer treatment have pushed breast cancer fatality rates down 34% since 1990. When detected early, the five-year survival rate has soared to 98%. More than 2.9 million breast cancer survivors are living and thriving in America today.

More myth-busters next time