Tag Archives: Fighting Cancer

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research

Patients Respond to Benefits of Integrative Cancer Therapy

Alternative Cancer Treatments are Worth a Try
Alternative Cancer Treatments are Worth a Try

It is unfortunate that Richard Howard did not discover the benefits of integrative cancer therapy until the final year of his 10-year battle with cancer. His family credits integrative therapies with the gains that allowed him to remain with his family a while longer and the increased feelings of comfort and well-being he experienced during his final year.

There is no way to know if Mr. Howard’s outcome would have been different had he embraced integrative cancer therapy sooner or obtained treatment at an experienced Center for Integrative Medicine rather than a local pilot program. What we do know is that over our more than 60-year history practicing integrative immunotherapy Issels Integrative Oncology has helped many cancer patients achieve complete long-term remission of advanced cancers and cancers that have proven resistant to standard treatment.

Mr. Howard’s daughter Sara, who encouraged her father to try integrative therapies, told the Litchfield (Connecticut) County Times, “I was like, ‘Dad, why not just try it?’ … I researched it and saw all the beneficial things it could do. He did and it was like, ‘Wow!’ and opening up this door for him to a whole other side of medicine.”

An engineer, Mr. Howard was at first skeptical of integrative therapies but was quickly won over by the increased comfort, sense of well-being and mobility he experienced following his first few alternative cancer therapies. The pilot program Mr. Howard participated in was limited to the integration of several Eastern medicine techniques such as acupuncture and massage; but a fully-developed, comprehensive integrative immunotherapy program can offer cancer patients a plethora of beneficial alternative cancer treatment options designed to support and enhance each other.

At Issels Integrative Oncology, we turn skeptics into believers every day. Click to hear what our patients have to say.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Care Tips

Melanoma Treatment Breakthrough with Immunotherapy

A Break Trough in Immunotherapy
A Break Trough in Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy continues to prove itself an effective weapon in the fight against cancer. Recent studies show that treatment can produce lasting remission in patients suffering with melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.

Leading pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb conducted testing of nivolumab, a member of a new class of immunotherapies. Its purpose is to disable a protein called PD-1 which restricts the body’s own immune system from attacking cancer cells.

Phase 1 of the trial involved 107 advanced melanoma patients whose cancer had spread to other areas despite treatment with traditional drugs. These patients received nivolumab via intravenous infusions during alternating weeks for periods of up to 96 weeks.

Median life expectancy for people with advanced melanoma is one year. Follow-up studies after treatment with the nivolumab found that 62 percent of the patients were alive, with 43 percent surviving after two years. Researchers are encouraged by the fact that the immunotherapy continued to show positive results even after treatment concluded. The data also suggests that therapy during earlier stages can be even more effective.

Bristol-Myers is continuing Phase 3 trials with nivolumab that focus on other forms of cancer such as lung and kidney cancer. In some cases, testing is using a combination therapy including ipilimumab, another of the new immunotherapies that works on disabling a different cell receptor.

Issels natural cancer treatment is based on more than 60 years of successful experience using integrative immunotherapy. Patients receive personalized protocols created to address their unique needs. Please contact us to learn more about our treatment centers and programs.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Immunotherapy

New Focus on Colorectal Cancer Treatments

Cancer Treatment
Cancer Treatment

Integrative medical treatments for colorectal cancer were the subject of a recent episode of Fox News’ Sunday Housecall. Advancements in integrative immunotherapy, cancer vaccines and advanced targeted therapies have more patients – and their doctors – incorporating alternative cancer therapies into their treatment protocols for colorectal cancer and many other forms of cancer.

Patients are looking for non-toxic cancer treatment options that don’t have the debilitating side effects of the big three treatment standards — surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. They are finding the options they seek in individualized cancer therapies grounded in integrative immunotherapy. The unique complexities of colorectal cancer and other forms of gastrointestinal cancer particularly lend themselves to individualized cancer treatment protocols. Also of note is the effectiveness of cancer vaccines in the treatment of colorectal cancer, specifically autologous dendritic cell vaccines.

While considered a largely preventable cancer, colorectal cancer often goes undetected in its early stages. It may be several years before patients present symptoms. Symptoms can vary with the location of the tumor but may include fatigue, weakness, abdominal pain, weight loss, shortness of breath, spastic colon, diverticulitis, Crohn’s disease, peptic ulcers, bloody stool, diarrhea or constipation.

Diet education is part of Issels’ holistic approach to cancer treatment. To help prevent colorectal cancer, a diet rich in fiber and colorful fruits and vegetables is recommended. Choose deeply pigmented foods such as blueberries, cranberries, pomegranates, carrots, red peppers, kale, broccoli, spinach and red cabbage.

Visit our website to find out more about Issels integrative immunotherapy program for the treatment of cancer and other immune diseases. We offer a full spectrum of alternative cancer treatments and immune disease therapies at our inpatient clinic in Tijuana, Mexico and the comprehensive immunobiologic core treatment at our outpatient medical center in Santa Barbara, California.

Cancer Care Tips

Resources for Family Caregivers

Helping Caregivers Deal with Cancer
Helping Caregivers Deal with Cancer

Cancer has been called a family disease because it affects not only the cancer patient but the entire family. Spouses, parents, adult children and other relatives find themselves suddenly thrust into the role of caregiver.

While being the caregiver of someone you love can be a very rewarding experience and is a role many family members willingly accept, it can also be emotionally draining and physically exhausting.

Local Cancer Support Resources

Taking care of another person on top of your own responsibilities can leave caregivers feeling overwhelmed. It is important to develop a strong support network early. There are many excellent organizations, publications and support groups, both online and in your local community, available to cancer caregivers.

Good places to find local resources include the family resource center of your local hospital, your county or city’s senior services department, churches and local branches of national cancer organizations.

Online Cancer Support Resources 

The following online resources may also be helpful:

• National Cancer Institute offers an online cancer information service and live chat.

• American Cancer Society offers helpful articles for caregivers and links to cancer support networks.

• Cancer Care provides a list of online and telephone support groups for cancer caregivers and sponsors educational online and telephone workshops and podcasts on cancer-related topics. Monthly Q&As with cancer experts offer answers to common caregiver questions.

• Family Caregiver Alliance is devoted to supporting caregiver family members and friends. The site offers education, practical tips and resources to help caregivers manage every stage of care.

• Caregiver Action Network (formerly National Family Caregivers Association) provides information, education and support for family caregivers and offers online support forums and peer networks.

• AARP Caregiving Resource Center provides a comprehensive collection of online tools for caregivers, including connections to experts and other caregivers through online forums.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research

New Research Changes Our Understanding of How Cancer Metastasizes

Doctor Listening to Patient
Doctor Listening to Patient

For decades researchers in the lab have studied cancer cells in flat, shallow Petri dishes. As a result, assumptions about how cancer behaves in the body have been based on two-dimensional models. Now, new research is turning long-held beliefs about cancer upside down. Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered that cancer actually moves quite differently in the three-dimensional human body than it does in the lab.

How Cancer Spreads in 3D vs. 2D Models

In two-dimensions cancer cells move in a slow, aimless fashion called a “random walk.” Until now researchers had assumed that cancer cells moved in the same random way in the three-dimensional human body, making it virtually impossible to determine where cancer might land when it metastasizes.

The new findings indicate that cancer cells are more directional than random when moving through three-dimensional spaces like the human body. New 3D modeling may allow cancer experts to predict the most likely path of metastasis should cancer spread.

How Cancer Cells Move Explained

“Cancer cells that break away from a primary tumor will seek out blood vessels and lymph nodes to escape and metastasize to distant organs,” Denis Wirtz, director of Johns Hopkins Physical Sciences Oncology Center, explained on HUB. “For a long time, researchers have believed that these cells make their way to these blood vessels through random walks. In this study, we found out that they do not. Instead, we saw that these cells will follow more direct, almost straight-line trajectories. This gives them a more efficient way to reach blood vessels—and a more effective way to spread cancer. This means that the time these cancer cells need to make their way out of connective tissues is much shorter than previous estimates.”

The new 3D model may lead to more effective advanced targeted immune therapies and cancer vaccines designed to protect against metastasis.

Cancer Survivors, Living with Cancer

Young Skin Cancer Survivors at Greater Risk of Later Cancer

Skin Cancer Risks
Skin Cancer Risks

Most of us are aware that sun exposure and tanning beds increase the risk of skin cancer. The most common kind of skin cancer is nonmelanoma skin cancer which, when discovered early, is highly treatable and rarely spreads to other parts of the body. However, a recently released study of 502,490 individuals in the United Kingdom has now linked nonmelanoma skin cancer to a greater risk of future cancer; and young people who are least likely to protect themselves from harmful sun exposure are at greatest risk.

A large, long-term study of people with a history of nonmelanoma skin cancer found that they were more likely to develop other types of cancer. For people under the age of 25, the risk was a disturbing 23 times higher. For adults 25 to 44, risk decreased but was still 3.5 times greater than for those who had never had skin cancer. Risk continued to decrease with age, although it remained slightly higher for all age groups.

“Our study shows that [nonmelanoma skin cancer] susceptibility is an important indicator of susceptibility to malignant tumors and that the risk is especially high among people who develop [the condition] at a young age,” noted Dr. Rodney Sinclair, director of dermatology at Epworth Hospital in Australia, on Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

It was found that people who had nonmelanoma skin cancer before reaching the age of 25 were 53 times more likely to develop bone cancer, 26 times more likely to get blood cancers, 20 times more likely to be diagnosed with brain cancer, and 14 times more likely to develop other cancers other than skin cancer. The study also suggests a significant risk of developing other cancer types–salivary gland, melanoma, bone and upper gastrointestinal tract cancers, in particular–among people with a history of the disease in general.

Issels integrated immunotherapy offers non-toxic alternative cancer treatments for cancers of all types including melanoma.