Tag Archives: Immunotherapy

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research, Immuno-Oncology

BBC Reviews the “Right” Way to Fight Cancer

Stop Cancer Sign
It’s Time to Stop Cancer!

Cancer is the #2 cause of death in the United States. Untold amounts of time and money have been spent researching treatments, such as the non-toxic protocols used at our immuno-oncology center. But is the fight against cancer going in the right direction? Four experts recently spoke with BBC News about ways to improve the approach toward cancer research.

1. Relax government regulation

Dr. Vincent DeVita, instrumental in discovering the cure for Hodgkin’s disease, points to restrictive rules enforced by the Food and Drug Administration. He says it took three years for his team to develop their program, but today’s gauntlet of hurdles would stretch that time to 15 years.

2. Focus on early-stage treatments

According to MIT assistant economics professor Heidi Williams, shorter clinical trials for late-stage treatments result in more funding. Private funding is usually directed toward this research, suggesting that public funding could be allocated more for early-stage treatments studies.

3. Allocate more resources toward prevention

Political and economic considerations make cancer prevention efforts a lower priority, states Dr. Christopher Wild of WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer. He estimates that 40 to 50 percent of cancers could be prevented if knowledge was applied to prevention as well as treatments.

4. Educate the public

Professor Pekka Puska led a landmark experiment to reduce heart disease by educating a Finnish community about the dangers of high-risk habits. A similar campaign could be used to inform the public about the connection between cancer and individual behaviors.

Cancer treatments at our Issels® immuno-oncology center are personally tailored to focus on each patient’s particular needs. Contact us for more information.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research, Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy Arises as the Closest Thing to Cure for Cancer Yet

The Cure is Coming
The Cure is Coming

For decades, the cure for cancer has been the holy grail of medical research. While there have been significant advances in treatment, an actual cure remains elusive. Thanks to its innovative approach, integrative immunotherapy has emerged as the closest thing to a cure for cancer.

What’s the difference between immunotherapy and conventional treatments?

Traditional chemotherapy can be effective, but it kills healthy cells along with cancer cells, leaving the door open for the disease to return. Immunotherapy is unique in that it trains the body’s own immune system to recognize and fight cancer cells, much as they do with a common cold.

James Larkin is a consultant at London’s Royal Marsden, the leading cancer hospital in the world. He explains that cancer can become resistant to conventional drugs, while immunotherapy works from the inside to boost the body’s natural resources. The idea is that the immune system is “programmed” to change in response to a tumor’s evolution.

A real-life success

Sandra Sayce is a living example of the benefits of integrative immunotherapy. The 52-year-old was originally treated for melanoma in 2001, when lesions were discovered on her lower leg. After the disease returned in 2005 and was diagnosed as stage four, she participated in a trial for an immunotherapy drug called ipilimumab. With no further treatment, the tumors disappeared and she has been cancer-free for nearly 10 years.

Issels® has long been at the forefront of the movement toward integrative immunotherapy. Our programs are individually designed to meet each patient’s specific needs. Visit our website for testimonials from the many people who have been successfully treated with our non-toxic protocols.

Breast Cancer, Cancer Research, Immuno-Oncology, Immunotherapy, News

In 21 States Cancer Tops the List as the Cause of Death

We Haven't Defeated Cancer Yet
We Haven’t Defeated Cancer Yet

Thanks to increasingly successful developments in treatment, such as the state-of-the-art programs at our Issels immuno-oncology clinics, the number of cancer deaths has dropped significantly over the past 20 years. Sadly, though, it has become the leading cause of death in 21 states, emphasizing the need for continuing urgency in research.

Cancer by the numbers

Projections recently released by the American Cancer Society reveal that more than 1.68 million people will be diagnosed with the disease in the upcoming year, while nearly 600,000 will die from it. In terms of overall numbers, 23 percent of deaths are a result of cancer, second only to 24 percent from heart disease.

While lung cancer is still the most deadly form, the 23 percent drop in cancer death rates between 1991 and 2012 is largely due to a steep reduction in smoking. Only 16.8 percent of Americans are smokers, compared to just fewer than 21 percent in 2009.

Continued optimism in the search for a cure

The American Society for Clinical Oncology issued a statement hailing “our nation’s investment in cancer research,” which has led to major breakthroughs in effective treatment. In particular, advancements in innovative programs such as immunotherapy and molecular targeted treatments have led to a consistent decline in death rates from the four major types: lung, breast, prostate and colon/rectum.

For years, our Issels immuno-oncology clinic has been a leader in the use of non-toxic immunotherapy protocols. Visit our website for more information about our programs as well as testimonials from the many patients of all ages who have been helped by our personalized treatment programs.

Cancer Research, Immunotherapy, Uncategorized

Mainstream Medicine Embraces Immunotherapy Treatment for Cancer

Immunotherapy is Becoming More Mainstreem
Immunotherapy is Becoming More Mainstreem

A study designed and led by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York of a new immunotherapy cancer treatment is being hailed by researchers at the annual conference of the American Society of Clinical Oncology as a potent new weapon in the fight against cancer. What is this revolutionary treatment? The body’s own immune system. Those involved in the study are divided as to just how excited to get over the results, however, and Issels® wants to give you the inside scoop…

The therapy?    
Cancer, unlike most other diseases, involves the body’s own immune cells gone rogue. Unrecognized as a threat, the immune system cannot target the dangerous cells. The therapy in question, however, can switch the body’s immune system back on: a combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab, created by Bristol-Myers Squibb, who sponsored the study.

How effective is it?
It halted the advancement of skin cancer melanoma for nearly a year in 58% of subjects. It has also shown promise in other hard to treat cancers, such as lung cancer and those that metastasize.

Why everyone is not 100% sold…
Thirty-six percent of patients involved in the study had to stop treatment due to side effects – stomach inflammation and bowel issues serious enough to require hospitalization. This led experts to caution treatment benefits may not offset the risks for some patients. Researchers also have yet to study the long-term survival rates for the immunotherapy, therefore physicians and patients have been advised to weigh these considerations carefully as studies of the combination continue.

Are you looking for game changing cancer treatment? Immunotherapy works we are experts in its administration to fight cancer! Contact Issels® to learn more about possible treatment options today.

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research, Immunotherapy, Uncategorized

First Ever Immunotherapy for Cancer Conference Schedule for September 2015

First Ever Conference
First Ever Conference

If you have been uncertain about the future of immuno-oncology, you have merely to look at the sudden increase in research studies and events related to the topic happening around the world. At Issels® Integrated Immuno-Oncology, we remain dedicated to keeping up-to-date with current advances.

This year marks the first conference ever dedicated to discussion about the future of immunotherapy as a survival option for cancer treatment. “The Inaugural International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference: Translating Science into Survival,” sponsored by the Association for Cancer Immunotherapy, the American Association for Cancer Research, the European Academy of Tumor Immunology and the Cancer Research Institute, will be hosted at the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel in New York City in the United States from September 16th to the 19th. It is being referred to as a point of reference, educational and networking meeting for everyone who is currently working in this area, including patient advocates, doctors, scientists, drug developers and regulators. According to the AACR, the conference is planned as a biennial event. The 2017 event will be hosted somewhere in Europe.

Leaders in cancer immunotherapy science and treatments will be giving over 60 talks about a wide range of topics, including biomarkers, checkpoint blockade inhibitors, combination therapies, genomic methods for identifying tumor antigens, tumor microenvironments, the microbiome, T-cell responsiveness and related therapies.

At Issels®, we are excited that immunotherapy is finally receiving the recognition it deserves as a non-toxic and personalized cancer treatment option. For more information about how this event will help improve your current treatments, or to schedule an appointment for an immunotherapy treatment plan evaluation at one of our Issels® centers, contact us today!

Alternative Cancer Treatment, Cancer Research, Immunotherapy, Uncategorized

The New Focus on Immunotherapy Drugs for Cancer Treatment

Hypothermia To Fight Cancer?
Focusing On Immunotherapy

No single cure-all cancer immunotherapy drug exists at this time. Instead, modern medicine offers several FDA approved single and combination drug options.

What do they do to the body?

As outlined in the Vox article “Is Cancer Immunotherapy Really a Miracle Cure?,” these treatments prompt a person’s immune system to destroy cancer cells when it will not do so on its own. Immuno-oncology research began as early as the 1890s when Dr. William Coley discovered he could shrink tumors in some patients by injecting bacteria directly into their tumors.

Immuno-oncology was mostly ignored for over a century because of more evident successes in surgical, radiation and chemo therapies. Yet, many researchers now believe it could be the key to curing cancers. Modern technologies have helped us better understand at the cellular level how cancer forms and spreads and how the body responds to different treatments.

Are there risks?

Every treatment available poses risks. Like chemotherapy, immunotherapy drugs have toxic side effects and can even cause adverse immune system reactions. Currently, these immunotherapy drugs do benefit many patients.

  • Their immune systems destroy targeted cancer cells and tumors.
  • They receive remission benefits for months longer than other treatments.
  • Some receive benefits for years longer.

Researchers are only beginning to understand how they can use modified viruses to prompt the immune system to work harder and more efficiently. As the article outlines, their biggest challenge is determining who will benefit and how to create new treatments for everyone else.

If you have exhausted all other options, our personalized Issels immunotherapy with non-toxic vaccine and cell therapies prepared from your own immune cells could turn everything around.