Category Archives: Immuno-Oncology

Cancer Care Tips, Cancer Survivors, Immuno-Oncology, Immunotherapy, Living with Cancer

How to Survive Cancer – Tips from Sam Donaldson

These Tips Can Improve Your Outlook on Life!
These Tips Can Improve Your Outlook on Life!

When veteran TV journalist Sam Donaldson was diagnosed with melanoma, he thought he had three months to live. That was in 1995, and thanks to successful treatment he went on to live another 20 years and counting. He has since passed on some important lessons to his fellow cancer survivors.

Dealing with a Cancer Diagnosis

The reporter’s mother had died of melanoma at 93, while his brother succumbed to liver cancer at 49, so Donaldson thought he understood what he was in for. One thing he knew is that melanoma is a “bad actor” that takes an unpredictable course.

Since Donaldson’s treatment began almost immediately, he had little chance to do any research. Over his post-treatment years, Donaldson has done extensive research on cancer as a member of the “Cancer Club, Melanoma Division.”

Top Three Tips for Cancer Patients

Here are Donaldson’s top three tips for people who have cancer, as told to the National Institutes of Health:

• While cancer can still be fatal, it’s no longer an automatic death sentence and the “Cancer Survivors Club” is growing each year.

• Get a second opinion, and even a third if need be. Consulting more than one specialist improves the accuracy of your diagnosis and helps you find the expert best suited for your treatment.

• Stay optimistic. As Donaldson says, a positive attitude doesn’t cure cancer, but there’s no question that it makes a difference.

Our personalized immunotherapy programs at Issels® have introduced many patients to the “Cancer Survivors Club.” Contact us today to learn more about our cancer vaccines and other non-toxic treatments.

Cancer Care Tips, Cancer Survivors, Immuno-Oncology, Immunotherapy

Cancer Survivors: How to Thrive After Treatment

Close-up of stethoscope and paper on background of doctors and patient working with laptop
How to Thrive After Cancer Treatment

Thanks to cutting-edge treatments like immunotherapy, more and more cancer patients are experiencing positive outcomes. If you’re one of the nearly 15 million cancer survivors in the United States, you may feel a bit adrift as you try to resume your everyday life.

Dr. Joanne Mortimer of the Women’s Cancers Program at City of Hope offers these valuable tips to help you cope and even thrive post-treatment.

Take Care of Your Body and Mind

Cancer is a physical disease that also affects your mental and emotional states. Don’t allow worries about finances, spousal intimacy or other issues to interfere with your recovery. Talk to your doctor and get a referral for a counselor or support group.

Be Realistic

The end of treatment can be similar to other types of loss, where you feel uncertain about where to go from there. Focus on matters you can control, such as following a healthy diet or staying physically active, and you will feel less anxious about the things you can’t.

Educate Your Doctor

The increasing number of cancer survivors is relatively recent, so doctors are also learning about life post-treatment. Don’t be afraid to discuss any symptoms with your doctor, no matter how minor you might think they are. The more information you provide, the better your doctor will be able to assist you and other cancer survivors down the road.

Our Issels® personalized immunotherapy treatments have helped a number of people achieve long-term remission. Visit our website and be inspired by testimonials from patients who have survived cancers of almost every type.

Cancer Research, Immuno-Oncology, Immunotherapy, News

Could this be an Accidental Miracle for the Treatment of Breast Cancer?

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Breast Cancer Myths BustedAwareness Month
Promising Immunotherapy Treatment Protocol for Breast Cancer

Researchers in the United Kingdom recently made an exciting breakthrough in breast cancer immunotherapy treatment. Ironically, the discovery they made was neither sought after nor expected.

An accidental miracle?

A group of surgeons at the University of Manchester set out to test the use of a two-drug combo on tumors between the times of diagnosis and surgical excision. The drugs in question, traztusumab (Herceptin) and lapatinib (Tyverb) had previously been used individually in treatment.

While the intent was to study the effects of the drugs on tumor biology, the surgeons were stunned at the dramatic but unanticipated results. After only 11 days, 87 percent of the 257 participants experienced a significant reduction in cancer cells, while 11 percent showed no cancer cells at all.

Implications for future breast cancer treatments

Each of the women participating in the study had a form of breast cancer known as human epidermal growth factor receptor 2, also referred to as HER2 positive breast cancer. Herceptin works by blocking growth signals to HER2 receptors on the surface of the cancer cells, while Tyverb does the same from within the cells.

According to lead researcher Nigel Bundred, the results are a promising sign for tailoring individual treatments with breast cancer patients. The team is “cautiously optimistic” about indications that taking the drugs immediately after diagnosis may eliminate the need for chemotherapy.

At our Issels® center, we consider factors such as lifestyle and environment to create personalized breast cancer immunotherapy treatment. Visit our website to learn more about our cancer vaccines, cell therapies and other non-toxic immuno-oncology protocols.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Care Tips, Cancer Research, Immuno-Oncology, Immunotherapy

What is Biotherapy Treatment for Cancer?

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It's Time to Stop Cancer!
It’s Time to Stop Cancer!

You may sometimes hear immunotherapy for cancer referred to as biological therapy, or biotherapy for short. The prefix “bio” relates to living organisms, as opposed to “chemo,” which indicates chemicals. Biotherapy makes use of natural, living substances that assist your body’s own immune system in fighting cancer.

Biotherapy vs. chemotherapy

Traditional chemotherapy uses drugs to directly attack cancer cells. The main drawback is that chemo drugs can’t differentiate between cancer cells and healthy cells. As a result, damage to normal cells can result in nausea, fatigue, hair loss and other side effects associated with this type of treatment.

While your immune system does a good job at fighting bacteria and other foreign bodies, it has a hard time identifying and eliminating cancer cells. Biotherapy uses protocols developed from elements of the immune system, such as T-cells, cytokines and NK or natural killer cells, to harness and increase its cancer-fighting power.

How biotherapy affects the immune system

Biotherapy treatments can aid your immune system either directly or indirectly.

  • Direct assistance boosts the immune system’s ability to fight cancer cells by enhancing its power or making diseased cells easier to recognize.
  • Indirect assistance results from stopping or suppressing the process whereby healthy cells are transformed into cancer cells, as well as preventing cancer cells from spreading to other parts of the body.

Issels® is in the forefront of biotherapy cancer treatments

Personalized immunotherapy for cancer used at our Issels® center is based on special testing methods to determine each patient’s specific needs. Visit our website for more information about our individualized non-toxic therapies.

Cancer Research, Immuno-Oncology, Immunotherapy, News

Hard to Fight Pancreatic Cancer Responds to Immunotherapy

New Cancer Treatment For Pancreatic Cancer
Pancreatic Cancer Treatment News: Chemotherapy Plus Immunotherapy

Pancreatic cancer is one of the more difficult forms to diagnose, resulting in a low survival rate. A recent study found that immunotherapy for cancer holds great promise for more effective treatment.

Current treatments for pancreatic cancer

Surgery is the best option for pancreatic cancer. Unfortunately, the tumors are often discovered too late for surgery to be feasible. Doctors are left to use chemotherapy and other methods to control the cancer.

Medical breakthrough with immunotherapy

Researchers at University of Rochester Medical Center in New York set out to find a treatment that could make pancreatic cancer more receptive to surgery. The test involved use of PF-0416309, an immunotherapy drug that targets immune cells in pancreatic tumors.

Subjects included 47 patients whose pancreatic cancer had begun to spread. Eight received chemotherapy alone, while the others received a combination of chemotherapy and the immunotherapy drug.

Most of those who received the combination experienced a halt in the tumor’s growth, which was double the rate projected by the research team. Some saw their tumors shrink, while in one patient the cancer disappeared.

What’s next?

Side effects forced three patients to drop out, but otherwise no one had side effects more serious than those with chemotherapy alone. The researchers now plan to extend the scope of the test with phase 2 trials.

Issels® is the leader in immunotherapy for cancer

For years, our Issels® center has been ahead of the curve on immunotherapy for cancer. Our treatment programs are created individually,

based on each patient’s specific needs. Visit our website to learn more about cancer vaccines and other non-toxic immunotherapy treatments.

Cancer Research, Immuno-Oncology, Immunotherapy, News

Could Big Data Solve Breast Cancer Research Roadblocks?

Genomic Database Going Public will Aid Cancer Research
Genomic Database Going Public will Aid Cancer Research

Could information technology be part of the solution to curing breast cancer? Researchers and healthcare specialists are about to find out as genetic profiles of thousands of cancer patients have been released to the public.

Big data meets cancer research

Results of genomic testing are normally kept confidential and stored within a patient’s file. Early this past March, Ambry Genetics made the contents of their AmbryShare database publicly available at no charge.

The database contains anonymous data obtained from testing of the company’s thousands of breast and ovarian cancer patients. Doctors, researchers and other patients can now access this information in search of genetic patterns.

“Delaying medical progress”

Amber Genetics CEO and founder Charles Dunlop, himself a stage four cancer survivor, issued a statement in conjunction with the data release. In it, he expressed shock that public and private laboratories would withhold such information at the cost of “delaying medical progress” that could end the suffering of other cancer patients.

Not everyone is optimistic about this development. Genetics professor David B. Goldstein of Columbia University told the New York Times he was unsure that this database is enough to make a difference. But one important believer is President Barack Obama, whose administration’s “Precision Medicine Initiative” is working on establishing a database containing genetic and long-term health information for one million Americans.

Genomic testing at Issels®

Genomic testing is just one of the methods we use to develop our non-toxic integrative treatments. Visit our website to view testimonials from patients with breast cancer, leukemia, melanoma and other forms of cancer which have been successfully treated at our immuno-oncology centers.