Tag Archives: Fighting Cancer

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Immunotherapy

Personalized Cancer Therapies are the Future

Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy

Surgery, chemotherapy and radiation – for decades, these three treatments have represented the standard in cancer management, despite the risky side effects of each one.

Today, however, an alternative method to treat cancer is gaining attention from researchers, doctors and allied professionals. Cancer immunotherapies, including vaccines, is a therapy model based on a non-toxic approach that uses antibodies to stimulate the body’s own immune system to fight off malignant cells before they can form into dangerous tumors, reducing the rate of recurrence and increasing remission.

“The primary advantages of active immunotherapy are its relative lack of side effects, its specificity against target tumor cells and the generation a long-lasting memory response against tumor-specific antigens,” notes the National Institutes of Health.

Such personalized approaches have already made headlines in their survival-rate effectiveness in the treatment of some ovarian and prostate cancers.

Bringing personalized immunotherapy into the mainstream as an alternative or complementary cancer treatment has been the mission of many treatment centers. In recognition of the advancements made in this form of therapy, June has been declared “Cancer Immunotherapy Awareness Month” by the nonprofit Cancer Research Institute. “For 60 years, CRI has remained steadfast in its dedication to realizing immunotherapy’s potential to treat and cure cancer,” said Jill O’Donnell-Tormey, Ph.D., chief executive officer and director of scientific affairs at the Cancer Research Institute. “Because of this work, today safe and powerful new immune-based treatment options are finally available, and we are dedicated to increasing awareness and support to bring them to more patients sooner.”

Issels Integrative Cancer Treatment Centers specialize in targeted immunotherapy of cancer. We invite you to visit our website to find out more about how these cutting edge new therapies may be able to help you.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Care Tips

Heavy Metals Can Have Negative Impact on Cancer Treatments

Organic products and sustainable living reflect a modern recognition of the value of keeping life close to nature. A century or so ago nearly everyone lived a sustainable lifestyle and ate locally-sourced, home-grown food; there weren’t any other options. But since the Industrial Revolution man has been moving farther and farther away from his natural roots. In the process we have exposed our bodies to some very unnatural things: chemicals, plastics, petroleum distillates, nitrates, heavy metals, etc.

55 gallon waste drums
Toxic chemicals surround us.

Toxic substances have become part of our everyday lives. They are in the foods we eat, the clothes we wear, the construction materials used to build the homes we live in, the toys our children play with. Few of the items used to live a modern life seem to be completely free of toxicity; and in recent years many have been found to be carcinogenic.

Not so long ago, cadmium was found in children’s jewelry; and lead was discovered in the paint used on children’s toys. These and other high density metals are called “heavy metals.” In order to function properly the human body actually needs small quantities of certain heavy metals; but in excess even useful metals can be damaging. A large number of heavy metals are extremely toxic to the human body and can cause cancer and/or serious physical and mental degeneration.

Chelation therapy for cancer is a treatment that eliminates from the body harmful heavy metals and other undesirable substances that may interfere with cancer treatment and recovery. Find out more about chelation therapy for cancer on our website.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Immunotherapy

Cancer Report: Immunotherapy Yields ‘Remarkable’ Long-Term Results

Two physicians back to back.
Immunotherapy is in the news

After an intense review of cancer statistics and research conducted since 1990, the American Association for Cancer Research has issued a sobering progress report on the state of cancer and cancer treatments in the U.S. The report is of particular interest in light of a recent Institute of Medicine study warning that the U.S. is on the brink of a critical cancer care crisis that is expected to escalate as more baby boomers enter their senior years when cancer is more likely to occur. Despite progress being made in cancer awareness and treatment, cancer will strike more than 1.6 million Americans this year alone and kill more than 580,000.

As reported by CBS News, two key findings emerged from the report:

  1. Compared to 1990, cancer survival rates have increased by more than 1 million; but, as we discussed last time, the U.S. is falling behind in cancer prevention. According to the report, three lifestyle changes could prevent 50% of current cancer deaths.
  2. Advanced immunotherapy cancer treatments that employ the body’s own immune system to attack cancer are producing “remarkable,” long-term results without the difficult side effects that plague traditional cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation. The report notes that immunotherapies are in part responsible for the both the increase in cancer survival rates and the fact that survivors are living longer.

Issels Integrative Oncology has more than 60 years of experience using advanced immunotherapies as an essential part of integrative cancer treatment. As Issels treatment reviews indicate, we have a unique history of achieving complete, long-term remissions of advanced and standard-therapy resistant cancers. Visit our website to find out more about integrative immunotherapy cancer treatments.

Cancer Care Tips, News

New Report: 50% of Cancer Deaths Are Preventable

image of used cigarettes in sand.
The use of cigarettes has been linked to lung cancer

Half of all cancer deaths are preventable, according to a new American Association for Cancer Research report. You may be able to cut your cancer risk dramatically by making three lifestyle changes:

  • Reduce sun exposure,
  • Quit smoking, and
  • Maintain a healthy weight.

Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the U.S. with more than two million people diagnosed each year. One in five Americans will develop skin cancer. You can significantly decrease your skin cancer risk by wearing broad-spectrum sun screen that protects against both UVA and UVB rays whenever you are outdoors, even on cloudy days and in the winter.

Lung cancer is the deadliest cancer in the U.S., responsible for a third of U.S. cancer fatalities. Twice as many people die from lung cancer as from prostate and breast cancer. And lung cancer doesn’t just kill smokers. Non-smokers who live with smokers or work in a smoke-filled environment are also at increased risk of lung cancer. While there is some concern that electronic cigarettes may contain cancer-causing agents, a New Zealand study found that e-cigarettes are as effective as nicotine patches in helping smokers quit.

Obesity is the elephant in the room when discussing cancer and lifestyle choices. Obesity is associated with a third of U.S. cancer deaths, but the public is only just beginning to see obesity as a cancer risk factor. Obesity can interfere with your body’s metabolic function, weakening your immune system’s ability to fight off cancer and other diseases. Maintaining a healthy weight through diet and exercise may play a significant role in reducing cancer risk.

Cancer Research, Cancer Survivors

Search for Genetic Links to Cancer Survival Could Lead to New Treatments

Cancer Advancements at the Genetic Level
Cancer Advancements at the Genetic Level

Researchers are taking a new look at why certain cancer patients survive usually fatal cancers by focusing on the genetic makeup of their cancer tumors. By studying these “miracle” survivors, researchers hope to discover how their bodies were able to target and kill cancer cells when others could not and apply that knowledge to the development of advanced targeted cancer therapies that could potentially increase the number of cancer survivors. Researchers believe that the key to cancer survival may lay hidden within the complex genetic composition of the cancer tumors themselves.

Spearheaded by the National Cancer Institute, Reuters reports that cancer researchers across the country have launched “super responder” initiatives designed to examine the role gene mutations play in the effectiveness of different drug protocols and cancer treatments. The study grew from a drug trial for patients with advanced bladder cancer conducted by Dr. David Solit, an oncologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. Dr. Solit wondered why one patient not only lived while others died but has remained cancer-free for three years. He discovered that a rare combination of two genetic mutations within her cancer tumor made the patient more receptive to the drug treatment. Solit has since created an outlier clinic to study such exceptional responses in other cancer patients.

The sequencing of the human genome has opened new avenues of cancer research and spurred the development of targeted cell therapies using both drugs and cancer vaccines. As the cost of gene sequencing continues to decrease, cancer treatment is expected to shift increasingly toward individualized treatment programs based on the patient’s unique genetic profile.

Alternative Cancer Treatment

What Is Chelation Therapy for Cancer?

IV fluid bag
Chelatione Therapy by IV Drip

While evidence of cancer has been traced to ancient times, many people suspect that there is a relationship between the changes we humans have made to our environment and the growth of cancer into one of the world’s most prevalent and potentially lethal diseases. Since the dawn of the industrial age, human exposure to heavy metals has risen dramatically.

The explosion of new products and materials that followed World War II took heavy metals exposure from the workplace into the home. Not only did workers in more than 50 professions including physicians, dentists, laboratory workers, printers, metalworkers, photographers and artists risk health consequences from on-the-job exposure to mercury, lead and other heavy metals; but consumers were also placed at risk by heavy metals present in common household goods, including paint, tap water, cosmetics, processed foods and amalgam dental fillings.

Chelation therapy is used to rid the body of undesirable substances such as heavy metals, chemical toxins, mineral deposits and fatty plaques. Derived from the Greek word for “claw,” chelation “grabs” the offending substance, encircling the metal or mineral ion and transporting it from the body in the urine or feces.

The synthetic amino acid EDTA (Ethylene Diamine Tetraacetic Acid) was first used in the treatment of lead poisoning in 1948. Intravenous EDTA chelation is now approved by the Food and Drug Administration for treatment for lead poisoning.

The use of chelation therapy gradually spread to the treatment of other heavy metals and conditions, including cardiovascular disease, diabetic arterial disease, vascular disease and cancer. For more information on the use of chelation therapy in cancer treatments, visit our website.