Tag Archives: Chemo Alternative

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.

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.

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.

New Cancer Treatments Raise Costs and Concerns of Who Will Pay

Who Will Pay!!
Who Will Pay!!

As new medical breakthroughs successfully treat cancer at an increased rate, those suffering from a devastating diagnosis now have renewed hope as well as concerns over who will pay for the growing treatment costs. New drugs and procedures, which are designed to restore function to a compromised immune system, are being routinely developed to target specific variations of cancer, and they often carry a high price tag.

Many cancer treatments are done with a combination of drug and alternative therapies which work together to support the immune system while destroying cancerous cells. As medical science develops new options, they have to be mindful not to break the current healthcare budget of the nation. A compromise will eventually have to be made as the demand for these treatments increases, and profits may have to fall so that the system will be sustainable and fair.

With many new cancer treatments, who gets what is driven by the insurance companies who in an effort to control costs, may not cover payments for some of the most effective treatments. In some cases the most practical option may be to self-pay to receive the best quality care.

Targeted therapies, such as those available through Issels focus on the individual, and the cancer that has been inherited due to genetic predisposition, lifestyle, environment, or other influences. At Issels, we have two unique protocols when it comes to approaching treatment; therapies specific to cancer cells and tumors, and a non-toxic immunobiologic core treatment which plays an important role in cancer regression and healing.

Our techniques are some of the most advanced and most celebrated developments in the field. Issels combines various treatment options including cancer vaccines and immune enhancement technologies to focus not only on the tumor itself, but also the underlying causes of development. For more information on alternative cancer treatments, visit our website today.

Will In-Home Cancer Tests Be the Future?

In Home Cancer Treatment
In Home Cancer Treatment

Cancer research remains in the news keeping providers, patients, friends and family members up-to-date with current information. At Issels® website, you’ll find a plethora of information about cancer treatments and cancer testing.

A piece of important news was released on August 11, 2014 of interest to doctors and patients who want, or need, to test for colon cancer. According to an article published by HealthDay, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of an at-home colorectal cancer test based on DNA from a stool sample.

This is a giant leap forward in providing an additional option for testing besides the traditional colonoscopy or the use of fecal immunochemical testing (FIT). It was noted in a news release by director Alberto Gutierrez of the Center for Devices and Radiological Health, that the test detected more cancers meaning the test exhibits a high accuracy rating due to the testing of blood and additional testing for abnormal DNA.

Another piece of good news is the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid will be reviewing the possibility of providing coverage, nationwide, of the Cologuard test for people ages 50-85 with no symptoms of the disease and those at an average risk for getting the disease.

Having the option of a noninvasive test would support the fight against the disease as more Americans would be more inclined to use it versus having an invasive colonoscopy that should be done every 10 years starting at age 50.

For information about our many services focused on the health and well being of our patients, contact us by email, or for both patients in the U.S. and abroad, call us.

New Google Tech Aims to Diagnose Cancer

The Latest In Cancer Treatment
The Latest In Cancer Treatment

Since early diagnosis is key to treating cancer and other diseases, mega-corp Google is working on developing technology that will aid in the early diagnosis of cancer, heart attacks, strokes, and other diseases, much earlier than is currently possible.

Breakthroughs in nano-technology are hoped to lead the way
Google’s plan is to combine disease-detecting nanoparticles, swallowed via pill, with a wristband that will perform non-invasive blood tests. The goal is for the nanoparticles to identify and match markers for different conditions, then travel back to the wristband to communicate these slight changes in a person’s biochemistry that indicate the early symptoms of disease.

A step ahead
Cancerous and healthy tissues are decidedly distinct, and if Google’s technology is able to identify the unique traces of these unhealthy tissues in the blood before physical symptoms appear, diagnosis can be made when cancer is still preventable or treatable.

Technology dream-team
The product will be developed by the search company’s semi-secret innovation lab, Google X, and led by Dr. Andrew Conrad, molecular biologist and inventor of a now widely used inexpensive HIV test.

Preventing false-positives
Because of the increase in anxiety the identification of these markers could create, Dr. Conrad has emphasized the need for rigorous testing before the product’s release and widespread use to prevent unnecessary worry – or unnecessary treatment. Once released, however, this technology is expected to be a revolutionary and effective weapon in the prevention and treatment of cancer.

Looking for ways to become proactive with your cancer treatment plan? Contact Issels Integrative Oncology today.