Tag Archives: Immunotherapy for Cancer

July is Bladder Cancer Awareness Month, Will You Be Wearing the Yellow Ribbon?

New Immunotherapy Drug Can Help Fight Bladder Cancer
New Immunotherapy Drug Can Help Fight Bladder Cancer

If you or someone you love has received a diagnosis of bladder cancer or is in stage four and have exhausted treatment options, NBC news reports that there may be new hope for immunotherapy treatment for bladder cancer. This information is timely as July is Bladder Cancer Awareness Month.

Immunotherapy treatments

Immunotherapy for bladder cancer works by treating a person’s immune system so it has the ability to fight cancer.

According to the NBC news article, “more successful approaches, involve training immune cells to recognize a patient’s specific tumors, or finding and amplifying a patient’s own tumor-specific immune cells.” Immunotherapy now appears to be the best course of cancer treatment for many patients.

New drug, new hope

Hope now lies in a drug newly-approved by the FDA called atezolizumab (brand name Tecentriq) that boosts the immune system to slow the spread of tumors in patients in the advanced stages of bladder cancer. It’s the latest development in immunotherapy for bladder cancer treatments and it has shown promising results.

In a study of 119 patients who received the drug as treatment revealed that growth stopped in the tumors in 24% of those patients in the advanced stages of bladder cancer. The drug also shrank the tumors by 30%. According to the research team, 21 of the original patients from 2014 who received the immunotherapy for bladder cancer are still in remission today.

Learn more about our non-toxic immunotherapy for bladder cancer by contacting Issels® Integrative Immuno-Oncology.

Cancer Survivors: A Unique Perspective on Hope

Cancer Survivors: A Unique Perspective on Hope
Cancer Survivors: A Unique Perspective on Hope

Here at Issels®, we frequently encounter people who have been newly diagnosed with cancer, and their hope for a long healthy life seems gone. For the longest time, a cancer diagnosis has been linked with impending death, and while it’s true that some do lose their lives to this terrible disease, for the first time cancer patients can truly have hope.

There have been many advances in cancer treatment in recent years, and more patients are getting screened early on if they feel they are at higher risk. Early detections and improvements in treatment are saving lives, and the number of cancer survivors is expected to increase at an incredible rate in the months and years ahead. Currently, there are 15.5 million cancer survivors in the United States, and in just ten years that number is expected to hit 20 million.

Knowing these numbers is important, because cancer survivors have different needs than cancer patients; especially those who have undergone treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation. These patients often have serious, long-standing effects from what we’ve always thought of as “conventional” cancer treatments, and experts are still trying to find a way to help them with the physiological and psychological effects that can last the rest of their lives.

There’s no question that chemotherapy and radiation have been life-saving for many cancer survivors. However, they have also caused significant problems, such as heart disease, osteoporosis, neuropathy, and other physical ailments.

At Issels®, our focus is on immunotherapy, which has been shown to have no devastating long-term effects. Please contact us to learn more about this breakthrough in cancer treatment.

Cancer Survivors: Tips on Living Healthy After Treatment

Cancer Survivors: Tips on Living Healthy After Treatment
Cancer Survivors: Tips on Living Healthy After Treatment

Here at Issels®, whenever we talk with cancer patients about their fears, they’re most concerned about being told that their cancer has returned after being declared “cancer free.” There are actually a lot of things that can be done to reduce your risk of a recurrence and improve your overall health.

Risk Factors for Cancer Survivors

Staying healthy is very important for cancer survivors, and if you fall into certain high-risk groups, there is an elevated chance that your cancer will return. These groups include:

  • Those who are obese or overweight
  • Those who have a heart condition
  • Those who have high blood pressure
  • Those who have been diagnosed with diabetes

While it might seem as though you can’t really do much to change any of these physical ailments or conditions, making small changes to your everyday routine can help. Not only will you feel better overall, but your body will be more equipped to fight off cancer if it does attempt to make a comeback.

Help for Cancer Survivors: Getting Healthy

To get and keep your body in the best possible physical condition, you should consider making these changes to your lifestyle:

  • Start eating healthier foods, and talk with a nutritionist to find out what’s recommended.
  • Add exercise to your daily routine – even a small amount each day can work wonders.
  • Stop all tobacco use.
  • Find healthy ways to deal with stress.
  • Cut down or eliminate the amount of alcohol you drink.

At Issels®, we can help you find the right combination of changes that will help you thrive! Contact us to learn more about immunotherapy.