Tag Archives: Breast Cancer

Thyroid Cancer Deaths Are Increasing in U.S.

Thyroid Cancer
Thyroid Cancer

Over the past 20 years, the rate of cancer death in the U.S. has dropped a gratifying 20%, with the exception of thyroid cancer. Bucking the general trend, thyroid cancer deaths have increased slightly over the last two decades with the number of new thyroid cancer diagnoses climbing steadily, particularly among women.

Thyroid cancer accounts for only 3.6% of all new cancer diagnoses in the U.S. and just 0.3% of cancer deaths, according to the National Cancer Institute. Considered a highly treatable form of cancer, thyroid cancer has a 97.7% five-year survival rate. Even so, that thyroid cancer cases have doubled during a period when other cancer diagnoses have declined has researchers puzzled – and concerned. While better diagnostic tools and early detection certainly account for a portion of the increase, many cancer researchers believe that something else may be behind thyroid cancer’s increasing incidence and mortality. As the New York Times explained, of particular concern is the fact that thyroid cancer mortality among men, who are 3 times less likely than women to develop the disease, increased an alarming 2.4% between 1992 and 2000, the greatest increase of any type of cancer.

An additional issue is overtreatment of so called “small tumors,” tiny thyroid tumors that are unlikely to cause a problem during the patient’s lifetime. Questioning the need for surgical removal, the typical treatment for thyroid tumors, in such cases, Dr. Bryan McIver of the Mayo Clinic told the Times, “Even though the evidence does not support that it is beneficial, there is an increasing trend in the U.S., and probably worldwide, to treat all thyroid cancers in the most aggressive way.”

Integrated immunotherapy offers thyroid cancer patients a non-toxic treatment option that may be particularly effective in the treatment of small tumors.

Search Is on for Preventative Breast Cancer Vaccine

Cancer Vaccine
Searching for a Breast Cancer Vaccine

Searching for a vaccine to prevent breast cancer, traditional Western medicine is once again following in the footsteps of renowned cancer specialist Dr. Josef Issels, founder of Issels Integrative Oncology. Since the development of a preventative cervical cancer vaccine, scientists have been searching for vaccines that could be used to prevent other common cancers, including breast and prostate cancer. A common problem has been lack of a clear target.

Vaccines typically target a specific virus or bacteria, but scientists have not been able to isolate a single specific cause for breast cancer. Certain viruses are known to cause cancer. Human papillomavirus (HPV), for example, has been directly linked to cancers of the cervix, head and neck, vulva, vagina, penis and anus; and liver cancer can be caused by the virus Hepatitis B. While there are a number of different cancers that attack the breast and scientists speculate that breast cancer is likely to have multiple causes, the human mammary tumor virus (HMTV) is evident in 40% of all breast tumors. HMTV also seems to play a significant role in inflammatory breast cancer, a rare but deadly form of the disease.

The relationship between breast cancer and HMTV is not fully understood, but the virus has given cancer researchers a target for the development of a breast cancer vaccine that would spare women from subjecting their bodies to mastectomy, chemotherapy or radiation. Numerous vaccine initiatives are currently in progress, but personalized cancer vaccines that tap into the patient’s own immune system, like those already available at Issels appear to offer the greatest potential.

Next time: Vaccine initiatives

What Women Need to Know about BRCA and Breast Cancer

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

With all the news stories appearing in support of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, BRCA is a hot topic. As we noted last time, the highly publicized decision of some celebrities who carry the BRCA gene mutation, including actress Angelia Jolie, to undergo preventive double mastectomies has influenced more women to seek the same treatment. But cancer treatment experts say that publicity surrounding celebrity cancer prevention and treatment choices has generated an outsized fear of BRCA that is leading some women to take more dire action than may be necessary.

Naturally, each woman’s medical history and prognosis are different; but according to the Mayo Clinic, the BRCA genetic mutation is a causal factor in only about 5% of breast cancers and 10% to 15% of ovarian cancers. Even if you do carry the BRCA gene mutation, a double mastectomy may not be necessary. If you are a breast cancer survivor who does not carry the BRCA gene, your risk of developing cancer in the other breast is typically so low that a double mastectomy may not be medically indicated.

There is concern in the cancer community that fear of BRCA is leading women to make treatment choices without fully exploring all their options. Cancer is a very individualistic disease and each person’s response to cancer and cancer treatment is unique. Your decisions about preventive measures and treatment choices should be made in consultation with your Issels cancer treatment team and designed to address your personal health needs; not based on the treatment that worked for your friend, a family member or a celebrity.

Celebrity Cancer Choices Shouldn’t Influence Your Treatment Decision

Celebrity Sunglasses
Celebrity Cancer Choices Shouldn’t Influence Your Treatment Decision

The stars are coming out for cancer this month in support of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Television stars are appearing in public service announcements to promote cancer awareness. Celebrities from movies, TV and music are appearing on talk shows and granting interviews to share their personal stories about cancer. But celebrity cancer support can be a two-edged sword.

When celebrities such as Angelina Jolie, Sharon Osbourne and Wanda Sykes share their personal cancer stories, people listen — and they start talking about cancer. “When a celebrity comes out about their experience with breast cancer, it really invigorates the conversation,” Nancy Healey, executive director of the Central and South Jersey Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, told the Asbury Park Press.

The downside is that the public often places undo importance on celebrity statements which can lead people to base their own cancer treatments on celebrity experiences. After Angelina Jolie discovered she carries the BRCA gene linked to increased breast cancer risk and went public with her decision to have a preventive double mastectomy, cancer treatment centers noticed an increase in mastectomy requests.

But, as Healey points out, “Breast cancer is different for everyone. It is really a question of finding out what works for you.” In other words, just because a certain cancer treatment worked for your favorite movie star or your best friend or your sister, doesn’t mean it’s the right choice for you.

A leader in individualized immunotherapy, Issels Integrative Oncology creates personalized cancer treatment programs that are as unique as each patient’s response to cancer.

U.S. Goes Pink to Promote Breast Cancer Awareness

The Pink Breast Cancer Awareness Ribbon
The Pink Breast Cancer Awareness Ribbon

From pink yogurt lids to blushing tow trucks to pink shoes on the NFL gridiron,  pink has become October’s most fashionable color in recognition of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. More than 2.8 million American women are undergoing or have completed breast cancer treatment.

One in eight U.S. women will develop invasive breast cancer. According to BreastCancer.org, nearly 300,000 women are expected to be diagnosed with breast cancer this year: 232,340 with invasive breast cancer and 64,640 with non-invasive breast cancer. For nearly 40,000 women that diagnosis will prove fatal.

Men are also at risk of developing breast cancer, but their risk is far lower than it is for women. BreastCancer.org estimates a man’s lifetime risk of breast cancer at 1 in 1,000. An estimated 2,240 men are expected to be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer this year.

After skin cancer, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed form of cancer in women, accounting for nearly 30% of all female cancers. Breast cancer is also one of the top two cancer killers among women. Only lung cancer is more fatal.

Despite those grim figures, breast cancer rates have been slowly decreasing since 2000. Greater public awareness, better cancer screening methods, reduced use of hormone replacement therapy and advanced cancer treatment options appear to be contributing factors in reducing both the risk and fatality of breast cancer.

Despite heavy publicity about the increased risk of breast cancer among women who carry BRCA gene mutations or have a family history of breast cancer, “about 85% of breast cancers occur in women who have no family history of breast cancer,” notes BreastCancer.org.

Cells’ Sugar Appetite Could Lead to New Alternative Treatment for Breast Cancer

Image of cells under a microscope.
Cells and how they process sugar.

Interesting new cancer research into the way cells process sugar may lead to new alternative cancer treatments for chemotherapy-resistant breast cancer. British researchers at the University of Southampton have discovered some intriguing links between sugar processing within cells and cell division and growth.

Researchers hope to halt the division and growth of breast cancer cells by targeting cancer’s “sweet tooth.” Cancer cells have a surprising appetite for the sugars found in human blood, using the sugars to fuel rapid growth. If researchers are able to harness that appetite for sugar, they may be able to stop breast cancer and tumor cells from multiplying and spreading without damaging surrounding healthy cells. The indiscriminate damage chemotherapy inflicts on healthy cells is a major drawback to its use in battling cancer.

In ground-breaking research funded by the Breast Cancer Campaign, News Medical reported that University of Southampton scientist Dr Jeremy Blaydes has shown “that chemicals called cyclic peptide inhibitors can stop ‘sweet toothed’ cancer cells from growing and multiplying by blocking proteins in the cells called CtBPs (C-terminal binding proteins).”

Targeted cell therapy is one of the most promising new research tracks being used to develop revolutionary alternative cancer treatments that rely on basic cell function and the patient’s own immune system to fight cancer.

Issel’s 60-year track record with immunotherapy-based alternative cancer treatments has produced remarkable long-term remission and recovery from chemotherapy and radiation-resistant breast cancer and many other types of cancer. It is hopes that this new discovery will in time give cancer patients an additional beneficial alternative cancer therapy option to the destructive side effects of traditional cancer treatments like chemotherapy and radiation.