Tag Archives: Living With Cancer

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Care Tips, Living with Cancer

Eating Tips for All Phases of Cancer Care

Eating Tips for Cancer Patience
Eating Tips for Cancer Patience

Proper nutrition is the foundation of good health, and it becomes even more important if you have received a diagnosis of cancer. Unfortunately, side effects of the disease and its treatment interfere with your eating plan at a time when you need it the most.

How can you overcome the challenges of eating well during cancer care? Here are some tips to guide you through each phase.

Before treatment

  • Talk to your doctor or a nutritionist about recommended foods and dietary supplements.
  • Start following a healthy diet immediately to boost your strength and reduce chances of infection.
  • Stock your kitchen with easy-to-prepare foods, including items like soup and broth that you can eat even when you’re not feeling well.

During treatment

  • Consume as much as you can during times when you have the greatest appetite. This will help sustain you during the periods when you don’t feel like eating.
  • Enlist help if you don’t feel up to cooking.

After treatment

  • Introduce a variety of foods back into your diet as much as possible for well-rounded nutrition.
  • Cook large batches of meals and freeze the extras for future use.
  • Reduce or eliminate your consumption of processed foods. Use low-fat preparation methods such as broiling, steaming and roasting.

At Issels®, we take your lifestyle and other individual factors into consideration when developing our personalized immuno-oncology cancer care programs. Contact us for more information about genomic testing, cancer vaccines and other elements of our non-toxic immunotherapy treatments.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Living with Cancer

Five Tips for Coping with Your Cancer Diagnosis

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Tips For Dealing With Cancer
Tips For Dealing With Cancer

No matter how strong you are, there is nothing that can truly prepare you for a diagnosis of cancer. Once it’s happened, creating a plan of action helps you maintain a positive frame of mind that’s very important for your cancer care.

Here are five valuable tips for activities that reduce the mental and emotional upheaval and allow you to cope with your cancer diagnosis proactively.

  1. Gather as much information as you can.

Knowledge is power, and the more you educate yourself, the less helpless you will feel. If you would rather leave the decisions to your healthcare team, get whatever answers you need to feel comfortable about your cancer care.

  1. Explore support groups.

A cancer diagnosis can create a profound sense of loneliness. Alleviate the feeling by spending time among others who have been there before and understand your emotions. If necessary, check out a few different groups to find one where you feel comfortable.

  1. Reassess your priorities.

Spend time with people you care most about and participate in activities that give you the most satisfaction. This is where you will gain much of the emotional and spiritual sustenance to see you through.

  1. Take care of yourself physically.

Make sure you are getting enough rest and are following a healthy diet.

  1. Maintain your normal lifestyle as much as possible.

Consistency is comforting, but don’t be afraid to alter your routine when it’s beneficial.

Cutting-edge, non-toxic immunotherapy treatments are part of the effective cancer care programs at Issels®. Visit our website to learn more about our state-of-the-art cancer vaccines and other protocols.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Care Tips, Cancer Research

Five Tips for Healthy Living with Cancer

Fighting Cancer With Exercise
Healthy Living

Continuing improvements in non-toxic immunotherapy have made a positive difference in the physical impact of cancer treatment. Maintaining your mental and emotional spirit is the other half of a winning equation for healthy living with cancer.

Here are five tips for strategies and activities to incorporate in your everyday life.

  1. Play an active role as a member of your own healthcare team.

The unknown is always frightening. Asking questions and learning more about cancer will demystify the disease, giving you a more appropriate and realistic perspective.

  1. Immerse yourself in the arts.

Listening to your favorite music and losing yourself in a good book or movie will distract you from negative thoughts while keeping you in touch with the joy of creativity and imagination.

  1. Join a support group.

Even though your family and friends may be ready and willing to help any way they can, there are times when you need to share with someone who is or has been in your shoes.

  1. Pamper yourself.

Take time to get a massage, practice yoga and meditation, or enjoy a relaxing soak in a bathtub surrounded by scented candles. Treating yourself goes a long way toward relieving physical and mental stress.

  1. Look for the lighter side.

Laughter truly is the best medicine. It boosts your immune cells and triggers the release of endorphins, your body’s natural mood elevator.

Our Issels® non-toxic immunotherapy treatments are designed with your individual needs in mind to help you maintain as much of your normal quality of life as possible. Visit our website for testimonials from cancer survivors of all ages.

Cancer Care Tips, Living with Cancer, Uncategorized

Ten Herbs and Vitamins to Steer Clear of While in Chemo or Radiation

What Not To Get During Chemo
What Not To Get During Chemo

Herbs and other supplements can provide an added boost for patients with cancer. In many cases, alternative cancer therapies can succeed where standard therapies have failed.

However, in some cases, complementary medicines that are recommended for some patients can actually have adverse effects on certain other patients. An herb may be excellent for one form of cancer and hazardous for another. In all cases, patients should confirm recommendations with a doctor before taking supplements.

These products may not be prescription drugs, but they do have a powerful ability to interact with chemotherapy, radiation treatments, and anti-cancer medicines.

Below are common supplements with anti-cancer properties that may also cause serious problems if taken during other treatments. Consult the American Cancer Society website or other trusted sources for a helpful guide to vitamins, minerals, and herbal medicines.

1. Fish oil: May induce bleeding if you have a low platelet count.

2. Ginger: Also may induce bleeding.

3. Turmeric: Could decrease the effectiveness of chemotherapy — or increase the effects, with toxic results.

4. Coenzyme Q10: Antioxidant properties may interfere with chemotherapy and radiation.

5. Milk thistle: May affect estrogen levels, which could pose an issue for breast or ovarian cancer.

6. Licorice: Also may affect estrogen levels.

7. Green tea: Negates the benefits of certain anti-cancer drugs.

8. Reishi mushroom: May interfere with certain drugs or chemotherapy.

9. Astragalus: May interfere with certain immunosuppressants.

10. Acidophilus: May cause infections or other problems if taken during chemotherapy.

Despite the risks for some patients, these substances do have successful results for many people. Issels® Integrative Immuno-Oncology can always help with information about alternative cancer treatment.

Living with Cancer

Cancer Cells Show Sensitivity to Metabolic Stress

Eat Healthy And Avoid Metabolic Stress
Eat Healthy And Avoid Metabolic Stress

Every day it seems researchers are learning something new about cancer. Recently, it was discovered that cancer cells could be vulnerable to metabolic stress. According to an article on Medical News Today’s website, this discovery could pave the way for new cancer therapies that won’t be harmful to normal cells. 

How Tumor Cells Get Stressed

Research has shown that a tumor is usually not made up of identical cells. When someone goes through chemotherapy the cells frequently change. This chromosomal instability causes cancer cells to stress out. When they are stressed, it could lead to metabolic disruption.  

What is metabolic stress? Metabolism is essential to life. It’s what turns food into energy. Metabolic stress puts a strain on the immune system, and could diminish muscle strength. 

Experiments are currently being conducted on Drosophila flies that will show how much stress unstable cells can tolerate. Dr. Gregory is hoping this study will be the jumping-off point to developing treatments that have no side effects. 

Ways to Avoid Metabolic Stress 

According to the article, chemotherapy is toxic to all dividing cells. That’s why there are so many chemotherapy side effects such as hair loss, pain, and infections. The immunotherapy treatments we provide at Issels® Integrative Immuno-Oncology have been shown to stop the growth of unstable tumor cells in many patients.

Other ways to avoid metabolic stress is by radically changing one’s eating habits and by working out. Exercise has also been linked to cancer prevention and reduced cancer recurrence. 

If you’re looking for a way to treat cancer that doesn’t involve weakening your body or the use of toxic chemicals, contact us at Issels® Integrative Immuno-Oncology. Our experienced doctors are happy to walk you through our immunotherapy treatments.

Living with Cancer

Bladder Cancer Breakthrough Highlights

Erasing Cancer
Bladder Cancer

After decades without major developments, the study of advanced bladder cancer has reached a new breakthrough thanks to an alternative cancer treatment.

An immunotherapy medicine has been found by researchers to shrink or eliminate tumors. Patients who have not responded positively to chemotherapy and other standard therapies have improved or entered remission, based on the initial findings.

The immunotherapy has been awarded “Breakthrough Therapy Designation” by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. This means the FDA will expedite the review process to help patients with the serious disease receive the treatment as quickly as possible.

Promising Evidence for Bladder Cancer Immunotherapy

In a British trial, advanced bladder cancer patients received a new medication developed by the Swiss lab Roche.

Patients carrying the PD-L1 protein responded best to the treatment. The results:

  • Tumors shrank in 43 percent of patients within 6 weeks of immunotherapy
  • After 12 weeks, 52 percent had shrunken tumors
  • 2 out of 30 patients had no signs of cancer following the treatment
  • Among PD-L1 negative patients, 11 percent saw a reduction in tumor size.

While this particular cancer immunotherapy awaits full FDA approval, the signs are encouraging. Only common side effects of cancer treatments were reported, including loss of appetite and tiredness.

Bladder cancer has long been considered one of the most difficult forms of cancer. This breakthrough provides an alternative to chemotherapy, which has for years been the only treatment option for advanced cases.

Issels® champions alternative cancer treatments, including many immunotherapies that are considered breakthroughs. Get in touch with us to discuss the latest cancer treatment options we provide.