Tag Archives: Chelation Therapy

Fault in Our Stars Faithfully Portrays Teens Coping with Cancer

The Fault in Our Stars
The Fault in Our Stars

Take tissues if you go see the new hit movie The Fault in Our Stars. The story of two teens with cancer who fall in love has a few weepy moments sandwiched between the romance, self-discovery and laughs. A faithful retelling of John Green’s best-selling young adult novel, the movie faithfully portrays the emotional highs and lows of teens trying to cope with cancer while struggling to live a normal life. (Click here to watch the trailer.)

The Plot

Hazel and Gus, played by Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort, meet at a cancer support group. She has thyroid cancer, is depressed and must drag around an oxygen canister, an ever-present reminder of cancer’s life-shortening reality and the fact that she is different from the other teens at her high school. He is a basketball star who lost a leg to osteosarcoma but, now 18 months in remission, chooses to celebrate life.

The Lesson

Gus’ ebullient outlook is the perfect antithesis to Hazel’s dour view of life with cancer. While ultimately heartbreaking as childhood cancer often is, their summer romance is a story of hope and overcoming fear as they plunge into life with teenage abandon. Without the specter of cancer lurking in the wings, The Fault in Our Stars might have been merely another sweet teen romance on the summer movie circuit. But the threat that cancer will bring young hopes and dreams to an abrupt halt elevates the movie, reminding us that life is short and should be embraced and lived.

At Issels Integrative Oncology even stage 4 cancer stories can have a happy outcome. Click to hear our patients stories in their own words.

What Is Chelation Therapy for Cancer?

IV fluid bag
Chelatione Therapy by IV Drip

While evidence of cancer has been traced to ancient times, many people suspect that there is a relationship between the changes we humans have made to our environment and the growth of cancer into one of the world’s most prevalent and potentially lethal diseases. Since the dawn of the industrial age, human exposure to heavy metals has risen dramatically.

The explosion of new products and materials that followed World War II took heavy metals exposure from the workplace into the home. Not only did workers in more than 50 professions including physicians, dentists, laboratory workers, printers, metalworkers, photographers and artists risk health consequences from on-the-job exposure to mercury, lead and other heavy metals; but consumers were also placed at risk by heavy metals present in common household goods, including paint, tap water, cosmetics, processed foods and amalgam dental fillings.

Chelation therapy is used to rid the body of undesirable substances such as heavy metals, chemical toxins, mineral deposits and fatty plaques. Derived from the Greek word for “claw,” chelation “grabs” the offending substance, encircling the metal or mineral ion and transporting it from the body in the urine or feces.

The synthetic amino acid EDTA (Ethylene Diamine Tetraacetic Acid) was first used in the treatment of lead poisoning in 1948. Intravenous EDTA chelation is now approved by the Food and Drug Administration for treatment for lead poisoning.

The use of chelation therapy gradually spread to the treatment of other heavy metals and conditions, including cardiovascular disease, diabetic arterial disease, vascular disease and cancer. For more information on the use of chelation therapy in cancer treatments, visit our website.