Tag Archives: cancer treatment

stem cells

Conventional cancer medication

April 19, 2017
Conventional cancer medication

Conventional cancer medication is the new way of treatment many are embracing

Conventional cancer medication: Cancer management

The pain that comes from cancer starts the moment one is diagnosed with cancer. Did you know that tumors can put pressure on the bones, the organs, or even nerves? The pain we feel doesn’t originate from the presence of cancer alone. Instead, the chemicals produced by a tumor can also create a lot of pain. This will demand the need of addressing the root cause and finding a lasting solution, and not just something to mask the problem. Besides the mainstream medication, we can also administer conventional cancer medication to remedy the situation. And even as this is being practiced, it must be noted that conventional medication may at times cause some little additional pain. Take for example surgery is very painful, radiation can cause burning sensations and chemotherapy automatically introduces a host of painful side effects including the nerve damage and mouth sores. The use of opioids may not be a good idea since the will only succeed in suppressing the pain for a while and not addressing the root cause. The most painful thing is that such medications will cause severe side effects to the patient.

Conventional cancer medication: Understanding painkillers as they are

To get the clear picture let us look at the common opioid painkillers. What do you know about them? They cause constipation, sedation, and possible addiction. Typically, it takes larger and larger doses to do the job as the patient develops a tolerance for the drug. NSAIDs like aspirin and ibuprofen carry the danger of gastrointestinal bleeding. They are, in fact, a leading cause of ulcers and death. Acetaminophen (the active ingredient in Tylenol) damages the liver. Acetaminophen is not an anti-inflammatory and in my view is the least satisfactory solution to pain. It’s of no benefit at all in treating the underlying condition, whether it is cancer, arthritis, allergies or something else.

If you we were given a chance to make a choice between addressing the root cause of the problem and finding a quick solution for the pain you are going through, like many other people you will opt for pain relief. This is where all of us go wrong and doctor Dalal Akoury is one of the medical professionals who is standing out to bring a positive difference in the life of people. Realizing that patients across the globe including cancer patients are causing more problems by opting for the short-term solutions, she made a decision to create a medical center (AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center) whose main objective is to transform each individual’s life through increasing awareness about health and wellness and by empowering people both the direct and indirect victims into finding their own inner healing power. The purpose of this is to create awareness to people so that instead of going for the shortcut, they can have a little endurance and have the real issue addressed.

Finally, for all your medical needs concerning cancer management, be it using the mainstream or conventional cancer medication, you can schedule an appointment with the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center and doctor Akoury help you professionally overcome all these painful moments.

Conventional cancer medication: Cancer management

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holistic-treatment

Inflammation effects on cancer patients

August 26, 2016
Inflammation effects

Inflammation effects on cancer patients can be very painful and the time for change is now

Inflammation effects on cancer patients: Benefits of good nutrition

The meaning of inflammation can be understood in two different ways depending on how it affects the body. Like for instance inflammation effects could be defined as a localized physical condition in which part of the body becomes reddened, swollen, hot, and often painful, especially as a reaction to injury or infection. It could also be defined as the body’s attempt at self-protection; the aim being to remove harmful stimuli, including damaged cells, irritants, or pathogens – and begin the healing process. What this means is that when anything harmful or irritating affects any part of our bodies, there will be always a biological response to try to remove it.

The understanding of that is that the signs and symptoms of inflammation effects, and specifically the acute inflammation, show that the body is trying to heal itself. Therefore inflammation effects does not necessarily mean infection, even when an infection causes inflammation. Infection itself is caused by a bacterium, virus or fungus, while inflammation is the body’s response to it. With that elaborate understanding of what inflammation is, the a million dollar question would be what does it have to do with cancer? In other words what are some of the inflammation effects on cancer patients? Keep reading and in a little while doctor Dalal Akoury MD and founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center will be giving us the finer details.

Prolonged inflammation

The truth of the matter is that irrespective of the definition, prolonged inflammation can cause real damage to your body’s healthy cells and tissue thereby weakening your immune system. It is this state of weakness in the immunity that increases ones risk of contracting the cancer diseases. But like we had indicated, not all inflammation is bad. And the experts say that individuals’ inflammatory response is very essential for the healing to effectively take place. It is this response that signals your body’s immune system to send some white blood cells and chemicals to help in fighting off the infection or repair any injury caused.

Finally it is worth noting that besides the known causes, there are other causes of chronic inflammation which may include obesity, smoking, stress, lack of exercise, exposure to secondhand smoke and diet choices. And to make the matter more worse, chronic inflammation in many cases does not show signs. Even though there will be no signs, there is the side which is good. And the good news is you can reduce chronic inflammation and lower your cancer risks. It starts with your diet. An anti-inflammatory diet also can help you avoid diabetes, heart disease and Alzheimer’s. Doctor Dalal Akoury is sharing with us some of the anti-inflammatory diet tips in our subsequent articles and so we want to encourage you to keep focused on the link for this great health piece of information. In the meantime you may want to consult with doctor Akoury for clarity in any concerns you may have over inflammation effects on cancer patients. You can call her on telephone number 843 213 1480 for further direction.

Inflammation effects on cancer patients: Benefits of good nutrition

http://www.awaremednetwork.com/

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stem cell therapy

Addressing cancer transplantation

July 28, 2016
Addressing cancer transplantation

Addressing cancer transplantation. It all begins with the elimination of substance abuse

Addressing cancer transplantation: Eliminating substance abuse

In case of malignancies, we are using patented methods of treatment with stem cells. These methods have proved their efficacy, have been approved by the Ministry of Health on April 20, 1999 and have been recommended for use in clinical practice. Transplantation of fetal stem cells is possible at all stages of oncological diseases like for instance:

Addressing cancer transplantation: At the initial stage of treatment

If surgery (tumor removal) cannot be started due to such complications as anemia, weakness, wasting, thrombocytopenia, depression, etc., transplantation of fetal stem cells prior to the tumor removal operation provides for the best preparation of the patient to surgery and best tolerability of the latter; it also accelerates the postoperative wound healing process, minimizes consequences and complications of anesthesia, and reduces the duration of the post-surgery rehabilitation period that allows for more rapid continuation of comprehensive treatment. In patients treated with the method of fetal stem cell transplantation prior to the operation, best tolerability of chemotherapy courses had been observed. Probability of metastatic process development diminishes as a result of increased anti-tumor immunity.

Addressing cancer transplantation: During the course of chemotherapy and radiotherapy (irradiation)

In case of such complications as leukopenia, agranulocytosis, thrombocytopenia, anemia, hepatitis, enteropathy, wasting, depression, alopecia, etc., transplantation of fetal stem cells promotes rapid (5 to 7 days) restoration of peripheral blood parameters after chemotherapy, improvement of the overall condition, and helps prevent complications. Transplantation of fetal stem cells provides an opportunity for carrying out more large-scale and intensive chemotherapy with a minimum risk without violating its timeframe.

Addressing cancer transplantation: After chemotherapy and radiotherapy (irradiation)

Transplantation of fetal stem cells is instrumental in restoring anti-tumor immunity and haemopoesis; it contributes to improvement of patient’s overall condition, decrease in weakness, as well as to improvement of their psycho-emotional status and quality of life.

Addressing cancer transplantation: Post-transplantation effects

Solid experience in cancer treatment allowed us to distinguish two stages in post-transplantation period that are different in time of development and clinical manifestations.

The first stage lasts for about one month and is characterized by emergence of early clinical symptoms that develop within a few hours after transplantation of fetal stem cells. We have described the early post-transplantation improvement syndrome: improvement in overall condition and appetite, decline in body temperature, diminishing weakness and sweating, restoration of self-care ability and increase in performance. This syndrome mostly occurs in patients with symptoms of severe intoxication and is often observed in patients with severe clinical course of the disease.

Also, a syndrome of psycho-functional changes is observed: reduction of somatic depression, improvement of emotional status, cognitive abilities, memory, and conative component.

The second stage of cell effect begins within one to two months after transplantation. It is related to reduced clinical manifestations of the disease and is characterized by stabilization of haemopoesis, improvement of the immunological profile, reduction of inflammatory effects, elevation of Karnovsky index, and improved quality of life.

Finally doctor Akoury reiterates that stem cell therapy contributes to formation of anti-tumor immunity; that can be used for preventing oncological diseases, as well as with the purpose of avoiding relapse and metastatic process. But even before we get there, most of the cancerous complications are as a result of substance abuse. This means that if we were to deal the prevention of substance abuse, cancer complications will be reduced greatly. Therefore as you consider taking the above treatment course, we also want to encourage you to talk to us about the major cause of cancer (drug addiction) so that we can fight the problem from all angles.

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Understanding the Distress in People with Cancer

May 2, 2015

Understanding the Distress in People with Cancer: What is normal or abnormal?

Understanding the Distress in People with Cancer

Understanding the Distress in People with Cancer will help in offering quality ant timely treatment solutions.

With the prevalence of chronic diseases like cancer, there are certain questions that we need to answer well if we want to keep distance from such diseases. Being distressful is one common problem that is associated with cancer, and this brings us to the first question to respond to. “How do you know when your distress level is normal or more serious?” according to the experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center, responding to this question directly may be very difficult due to the fact that some distress are normal and are expected when one is struggling with cancer. However doctor Akoury, who is also the founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center, says that certain signs and symptoms can warn you that your distress level is too high and is becoming serious. Some of those sign and symptoms may include:

  • Feeling flabbergasted to the point of panic
  • Being overcome by a sense of anxiety
  • Being overwhelmed with sadness to the point that you think you won’t make it through treatment
  • Being unusually irritable and angry
  • Feeling unable to cope with pain, tiredness, and nausea
  • Poor concentration, fuzzy thinking and sudden memory problems
  • Having difficulties in making certain decisions including very little and simple things.
  • Feeling hopeless – wondering if there is any point in going on
  • Thinking about cancer and death all the time
  • Trouble getting to sleep or early waking (getting less than 4 hours of sleep a night)
  • Trouble eating (a decrease in appetite, or no appetite) for a few weeks
  • Family conflicts and issues that seem impossible to resolve
  • Questioning your faith and religious beliefs that once gave you comfort
  • Feeling worthless and useless

Understanding the distress in people with cancer can be very complicated because a lot of things can be involved. Like for instance in some cases and many of them historical things from the past may put you or your loved one in danger of greater distress and in need of help. The following are some examples of past events that can cause distress to be worse when you have cancer:

  • Having a loved one who died from cancer
  • Having a recent serious illness or death of someone close to you
  • Having had depression or suicidal thoughts in the past
  • Memories of painful events from your past that come back as nightmares or panic attacks

If any of these describe you or a loved one, then you need to talk to your doctor immediately for direction. This could be an indication that you need help in dealing with distress. Remember that currently doctors and nurses and even other health professionals have established that emotional distress is closely associated with having cancer and should be treated along with the physical symptoms of cancer. If you are looking for the best cancer treatment centers, remember to have this problem of distress treatment in mind. Look for facilities that offer both cancer and distress treatment all together.

Understanding the Distress in People with Cancer: Tools to help measure distress

Sometimes it’s hard to talk about distress in a way that helps your cancer care team understand how much distress you’re having and how it’s affecting you. There’s a distress tool that’s much like a pain scale to help measure your distress. The pain scale works like this:

When asking about pain, the doctor might say, “How is your pain right now on a scale from 0 to 10, with 0 being no pain and 10 the worst pain you can imagine?” This has proved to be a helpful way to measure pain. A score above 5 is a sign of significant pain, and tells the cancer care team that the patient needs more help to manage it.

Some cancer teams measure distress in the same way, using a 0 to 10 scale. Just as with the pain scale, you are asked to choose the number from 0 to 10 that reflects how much distress you feel today and how much you felt over the past week. Ten is the highest level of distress you can imagine, and 0 is no distress. Most people can use this scale to rate their distress in a way that helps the cancer team. If your response is 4 or more, you are likely to have a moderate-to-high degree of distress. Your doctor and/or cancer team should find out more and offer some help with your distress.

Not only does this tool tell your team about your emotional health, but it also gives you a chance to talk and work out problems during your visit. Surveys done in cancer clinics have shown that up to 4 in 10 patients have significant levels of distress. It therefore means that no matter how distressful you may be, you are not alone in your distress situation.

Another part of the distress tool is the “Problem List,” or a list of things that may be causing your distress. For this, you read through a list of common problems and mark possible reasons for your distress. This helps your doctor to know whom you need to see to get help. The list of physical problems helps you remember those you should tell your treatment team about.

Understanding the Distress in People with Cancer: Do you need extra help for your distress?

People are affected differently with some people having a higher risk of serious distress. Like for instance if you have any of these experiences, then you will need some extra help:

  • Have had depression or other major mental health problems in the past
  • Have made a suicide attempt in the past
  • Suffer from other serious medical problems besides cancer
  • Have communication problems (such as a different language, trouble reading, or hearing problems)
  • Have some type of social or family problems
  • Have ever been physically or sexually abused
  • Are younger
  • Are female
  • Live alone
  • Have limited access to medical care
  • Have young children in the home
  • Lived with very high stress levels (even before the cancer)
  • Have ever abused alcohol or drugs
  • Have financial problems
  • Have spiritual or religious concerns
  • Have uncontrolled symptoms

Both you and your cancer care team may also notice when there are times when you are at risk for greater distress during the course of illness and treatment. Cancer is often said to be “like being on a roller coaster.” These times for more distress are often at points of change in the illness and treatment:

  • Finding a suspicious new symptom
  • During work-up and diagnosis
  • Waiting to start treatment
  • Changing treatment
  • Going home from the hospital
  • Finishing treatment
  • Going back to your cancer doctor for follow-up visits
  • Going back to a “normal” life after treatment
  • Cancer comes back
  • Treatment doesn’t work
  • Cancer gets worse or becomes advanced
  • Nearing the end of life
  • Going into hospice care

If your distress reaches moderate to severe levels at these times, you may need extra help. And up on understanding the distress in people with cancer, you can schedule for an appointment with doctor Dalal Akoury today for that much needed professional help.

Understanding the Distress in People with Cancer: What is normal or abnormal?

 

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Identifying Distress in People with Cancer

May 2, 2015

Identifying Distress in People with Cancer: What is distress?

Identifying Distress in People with Cancer

Identifying Distress in People with Cancer. Distress suffering is not just physical but also emotional and psychological

If you have been in company of any cancer patient you need not to be told o the suffering those cancer patients go through. The suffering is not just physical but also emotional and psychological. These put together brings a lot of distress to patients and if not addressed, treatment becomes very difficult. It is because of this reasons that we want to focus our discussion towards identifying distress in people with cancer. To do this we are going to be speaking to experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under the able leadership of Doctor Akoury’s care. Distress is a word with many connotations. However for our discussion we are going to use “distress” to describe unpleasant feelings or emotions that may cause problems for you as you cope with cancer disease and its treatment. It is also important to note that distress is also common with the family members and loved ones of people with cancer. Doctor Akoury says that distress is a big hindrance in cancer treatment and can make it harder to deal with all the changes that come with a cancer diagnosis. When we talk about being distressed in normal circumstances it would mean that you are feeling:

  • Unhappy or sad
  • Hopeless
  • Powerless or helpless
  • Afraid and fearful
  • Guilty
  • Anxious
  • Panic
  • Discouraged
  • Depressed
  • Uncertain

The impact of stress can be very complicated when dealing with cancer since it may affect areas of your life other than your feelings. It can affect your thoughts, your behavior, and how you interact with others says doctor Akoury.

Identifying Distress in People with Cancer: How to know when your distress level is normal or more serious?

Being stressed or distressful can be normal in our daily lives. Actually we all at one time have been stressed while handling our daily activities. The same applies with certain amount of distress when you or a loved one has cancer. These kinds of distress are caused, in part, because of the attitudes and fears people have about cancer. Like for instance, one of the greatest fears people have is that cancer means death or will ultimately lead to death. Nonetheless this idea of cancer leading to death is not true and unfounded. The truth is that today we have millions of people who have had cancer but have survived through the available treatment available in various health facilities.

Of course, people are upset when they learn they have cancer no matter how much progress has been made in treating it. There are many things that suddenly seem uncertain further explaining why identifying distress in people with cancer is very important. The challenges that people have include the worries about changes that will happen to their bodies when attacked by cancer. How their loved ones will cope with this situation and all other things that are likely to happen. The fear of a bleak future dons on them and people often wonder in silence or aloud that “Am I going to die?” and worries as to “why is this happening to me?”

And because cancer is hereditary, once you learn that you or a loved one has cancer, you may no longer feel safe. You may feel afraid, exposed, weak, and vulnerable. Such feelings often last through treatment, and you may feel anxiety and sadness, too. Doctor Akoury says that it’s normal to worry, especially at certain times, such as at the commencement of treatment. A recovering cancer patient acknowledges that, the worst time for him was waiting for that first chemo treatment. “Once it was over, and it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, I was OK. I actually felt better because I was finally doing something about the cancer” says the patient.

Identifying Distress in People with Cancer: Cancer Surgery

Waiting for surgery is another time of major concern. People often worry about the operation itself, but also about whether the cancer is growing while they wait. Fears about the changes that surgery will cause can be a major source of distress, too. Then there are concerns about work and home life and how they may change. Insurance and financial issues often add to the worries. For some people, one of the hardest times is after cancer treatment. Rather than feeling happy that treatment is over, they feel even greater distress. One patient put it this way: “I’m on my own now and I’m just waiting to see what will happen next.” From that statement you notice that this patient is very distress even though treatment has been concluded.

Seeing the oncologist (cancer doctor) after treatment can feel quite scary. Nearly everyone has some fear the cancer will come back (recur). This is normal, too. “Every time I have aches and pains, I’m convinced it’s the cancer coming back even if it’s a pain in my big toe,” one patient said.

Identifying Distress in People with Cancer: Everything about cancer is Stressful

Dealing with the side effects of treatment such as tiredness (fatigue), hair loss, weight changes, and how disrupted your life seems is also stressful. In fact, everything about having cancer is stressful. Being upset and worried are part of it, so a certain amount of distress is expected when you find you have cancer. But sometimes distress can go from the expected level to one that interferes with your treatment, makes it hard for you to cope with the illness, and affects all parts of your life.

It’s not a sign of weakness that you become so distressed that it interferes with your ability to do your usual activities. When you visit us at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center, our team of experts will explain for you the range of distress from what is considered normal to very high and offer some ideas about how to handle your feelings in ways that will be helpful. The very first thing you need to do in coping with distress is consulting with your doctors and cancer support team. Talking to them about how you feel will make you feel much safer. Their purpose is to help you get better and if they notice something that needs to be addressed, then they will direct you to the help you need. Remember that these people are only here to help you not just for the cancer treatment, but they are also counting on you to tell them how you are doing and what you are feeling. This is one assignment that you are the only one that can do and no one else.

Finally when addressing distress of cancer patients, the scope is not just limited to them but it is also applies to their loved ones. These people are a strong source of support, and their well-being is important, too in the delivery of successful treatment. Therefore if you are a loved one and feel distressed, it’s OK to let the cancer care team knows that you need help. You can also schedule for an appointment with doctor Dalal Akoury for much more professional assistance.

Identifying Distress in People with Cancer: What is distress?

 

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