Category Archives: Immune System

Enzyme Therapy and Cancer

August 7, 2014

Enzyme Therapy As Used In Cancer Treatment

EnzymeCancer treatments are known for quite severe side effects on the patients. Known treatment like chemotherapy and radiation therapy not only kill the cancerous cells I the cancer patient but also kill the healthy cells. This will lead to the patient’s getting more deteriorated as time goes by and may eventually lead to loss of weight, skin becoming darker and even hair loss. Pain associated with these methods of treatments cannot be underestimated.  Researchers and doctors have been involved in lots of research work in a bid to get the best cancer treatment that is devoid of the disadvantages the conventional cancer treatment methods are known for.

Today, there are various ways through which cancer patients can be treated but your doctor may be helpful in identifying the best treatment you can get depending on whether the cancer is prostate, breast, mouth or even lung cancer. The doctor may also monitor your reaction to a specific treatment and decide whether to continue with it or adopt a better treatment for the disease. These discoveries are a breakthrough not only to cancer doctors but also to cancer patients have been seeking alternative treatment to the disease and the enzymatic therapy is one of the alternatives that the patients are trying their hands on.

Enzyme therapy as an alternative cancer treatment involves the patient taking supplements of enzymes. Enzymes are natural proteins which are very important as they stimulate and accelerate most biological reactions in the body. Digestive enzymes, which are mostly produced by the pancreas help in digestion as they break down food and help with the absorption of nutrients into the blood. Metabolic enzymes build new cells and repair damaged ones in the blood, tissues, and organs. The metabolic enzymes so are important for optimum cellular functions.

The history behind the enzyme therapy

Enzyme therapy is synonymous to John Beard. John Beard, who was a Scottish scientist, was the first person to use the pancreatic enzymes in cancer treatment in 1902. After this discovery the enzyme therapy was used by doctors in treatment of other diseases. Doctors in Germany are said to have used the enzyme therapy in treatment of such diseases as multiple sclerosis, cancer, and viral infections. The use of enzyme therapy has not stopped as some enzyme mixtures are still being used in other European countries.

The enzyme therapy was introduced in the United States in the 1920s by Dr. Edward Howell. Dr. Howell opined that by eating raw meat, people created an enzyme surplus in the body, which resulted in better health and increased resistance to disease. The doctor reasoned that the more the enzymes a person has in his body the efficient the normal bodily functions as well as the stronger immunity. Since the enzyme therapy was introduced in the United States, very many doctors have advocated its use especially as a part of the broader metabolic therapy regimen. Today there is an enzyme preparation that is being studied in the United States for possibility of being used alongside chemotherapy drugs in treating cancer patients.

Despite the fact that the enzyme therapy is widely used in treatment of cancer and other diseases, any well-designed studies showing that enzyme supplements are effective in treating cancer is not yet available. The major question that everybody asks and has kept enzyme therapy as an alternative cancer treatment quite controversial is that; enzymes when taken by mouth are broken down to amino acids before they are absorbed into the bloodstream, so how do they reach the tumors when taken by mouth?

The studies that have been done to verify the effects of the enzyme therapy on the cancer patients have borne different results. A study that was done in India found that taking enzymes helped to mitigate the side effects of the radiation therapy. Researchers however argue that the patients were not blinded, they knew they were taking enzyme supplements and so the results could have been achieved as a result of the patients’ expectations. Another study was done in Germany, in this study the patients were blinded as they did not know that they were taking enzyme supplements. This study did not show any positive effect of the enzyme therapy on the cancer patients.

There are other researchers in Eastern Europe who have tried to find out if this therapy is effective in cancer treatment. The general finding of these research works have showed that enzyme supplements may improve the quality of life and may generally have other benefits. Most of these studies sought to find out if enzyme therapy could be used in mainstream cancer treatments. These findings however were disputed on the basis that the patients were not blinded.

EnzymeDr. Nicholas Gonzalez did another study that involved pancreatic cancer patients. The findings of this research were published in Nutrition and Cancer in 1999. The study found that patients who were treated with pancreatic enzymes survived longer than patients with pancreatic cancer who were not under enzyme therapy. However an expert oncologist recently disapproved of the findings.”The study was small and obviously prone to several biases. Not only is the comparison with national averages unadjusted for confounders, but the principal results are based on patient selection; twelve patients who did not comply with treatment were excluded from analysis.”  The expert oncologist’s review stated.

Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) is an experienced integrative cancer doctor that has helped many cancer patients in their fight against the disease. She has worked hard not only in treating the disease but also in availing informational support to cancer patients at Awaremed which has become a place called home for many cancer patients. Call on her now and get help on cancer.

Enzyme Therapy As Used In Cancer Treatment

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Obstacles of quitting Smoking

August 6, 2014

Obstacles of quitting Smoking – Things Not to do when helping a smoker to quit

Smoking

there are so many obstacles for quitting smoking. it should be our collective responsibility to put this problem to manageable levels.

I believe that you are not hearing for the fast time the dangers of smoking cigarettes or any other drug. The human body has no association with smoke emanating from cigarettes and in fact it is not just the smokers who are at risk of contracting smoking related health condition but research has established that even the secondary smokers find themselves with all the smoking related health complication just in the same way as full addicts. How then do we help our people who have subjected their lives in to drug addiction and in this case we are looking into smocking.

Obstacles of quitting Smoking – Helping smokers quit

It may not concern you that your friend is smoking and you’re not, you may hate to be near smokers because of the strong smell emanating from them due to the substances they smoke. This attitude may be justified due to secondary infections however this is not the best way to go about it. This should be a concern of everyone you and I included. We must do all we can to encourage smokers to stop and quit this habit completely.

The benefits of having a smoking free society is healthy for everyone and we must be persuaded to collective and individually do what we can. Therefore for you to be of help to your smoking loved one or any other person quit their habit, it is very important that you get to know what applications will work and those that may not work. This piece of information is very necessary as it will help you face the smoking obstacles when you finally begin the journey of being an instrument of bringing change in our smoking society and so if you have tried all you can to influence your target from smoking or this will has just crossed your mind and you are considering giving it a try, you must ensure that you take all the precautionary measures so that you do not end up falling prey to the effects of smoking as a result of secondary smoking. Your target is to win the mind of your friend into seeing the benefits of quitting smoking. Smoking causes serious damage to almost every single organ in the human body, so it can’t be good not now or ever. It may interest you to know that much as you may hate smoking those whom you’re trying to encourage to quit smoking may not share the same opinion with you and they may be doing the exact opposite which is loving what they do (smoking).

Obstacles of quitting Smoking – Hazardous Nicotine

Nicotine and all the associated habits that come along with smoking like holding, inhaling and reaching for cigarettes throughout the day are physically and emotionally addictive to smokers. Research has established that smoking is a killer the world over. Many people are losing their lives because of smoking and the statistics is worrying. In US for example about 393,000 lives are lost annually from smoking related illness. This is therefore a motivation for you and I to ensure that this figures come down by changing our attitude towards those who smoke, we must desire to love them and not hate them even if we hate their actions. It cost you nothing trying to bring help a smoker quit their habits and so if you haven’t been able to get that smoker in your life to quit, it’s important to keep trying again and again, even if you become a bother to them persist on you may become bad in their site but don’t let this discourage you because there is great benefit when you finally win and they quit entirely.

Obstacles of quitting Smoking – What not to do in helping a smoker quit

Love is a very powerful element is unlocking this smoking problem. It’s said that love and kindness is the language that the blind can see and the deaf can hear. Loving someone who’s tried repeatedly to quit but failed each time they try is very important. These people need to be cared for and letting them know that someone is there for them despite their struggle with smoking will encourage them not to give up. Words of encouragements are very necessary and you must avoid negative remarks like “I give up! You’re never going to quit!” these are very weighty statements and can impact negatively to the smoker they may wonder whether quitting smoking is possible or worth the effort they are putting. Nonetheless words of encouragement like “I’m not giving up on you and will be with you on this journey to the end of it” are useful statements which will remain in their minds for a long time and positively influences your loved one’s decision to stay the course.

Giving up on methods that aren’t working is a good idea, though. With smoking, it may be the “same approach, different day” or even “different day, different approach,” because it’s hard to know when something just might click and connect with a smoker’s desire to quit. It is therefore important that you keep trying and showing concern while you figure out what definitely isn’t working or what’s driving them to smoke more. Doing this on your own may be overwhelming at times and so you may need the guidance of a professional from time to time. At AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center you will meet addiction professionals who will help you in your effort of quitting smoking in the most natural way. This facility was founded by Doctor Dalal Akoury who has been in this line of treatment for over the last two decades making her to be very experience to handle your smoking problems in a much more dignified way. While at this facility, doctor Akoury together with her team of experts will work round the clock to ensure that your smoking problem is no more. They will attend to you in many ways among them will be by focusing on Neuroendocrine Restoration (NER) to reinstate normality through realization of the oneness of Spirit, Mind, and Body, Unifying the threesome into ONE  and your life will never be the same again.

Obstacles of quitting Smoking – Things Not to do when helping a smoker to quit

 

 

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Cancer Vaccines

August 4, 2014

Role of Cancer Vaccine In Integrative Cancer Treatment,

VaccineCancer is a multi-faceted disease that needs to be treated with different approaches. This is the reason why we have different alternative to cancer treatment. The researchers and doctors have done much to avail us these alternative and one of the alternatives that is used widely in cancer treatment today especially by integrative cancer doctors is the use of cancer vaccines in treating cancer. There are several vaccines that have been made available to be used in curbing cancer. However we are going to learn about two major vaccines that are widely used in integrative cancer centers to help in the course of curbing cancer.

Cancer vaccines play a role in making the body more resistant to the cancer cells. It works in a ways that make the cancer cells more visible hence can be spotted by the white blood cells and killed. The cancer cells are known to camouflage to the surrounding cells making them be mistaken for healthy cells by the killer cells. The vaccines “remove this mask” and makes them more vulnerable to the attacks of the white blood cells and hence are killed outright.

Baculillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG)

To those who might have heard of BCG can easily associate it with TB other than cancer. It is used against tuberculosis. However the recent research has found out that the Baculillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) can be used as a vaccine against cancer. It is found to have the abilities of stimulating the immune system to fight cancer naturally.

The researchers who led this research study were Dr Wai Liu and Professor Angus Dalgleish from St George’s, University of London. They opined that certain mechanism were likely to make the cancer vaccines more effective in enhancing the anticancer activity of the immune system. They said that these vaccines can be used alongside other cancer therapies as they will enhance the effectiveness of these treatments by awakening the immune system to fight cancer alongside these therapies.

The researchers used human tumor cells in a lab experiments. The researchers discovered that BCG played an apart by instructing the white blood cells to produce toxins that are known as cytokinins and use them in fighting the tumors. The cytokinins help by making the tumor cells more likely to be seen by the white blood cells. Hence making it easier for them to be fought.

“Cancerous cells are known to camouflage themselves as healthy cells. This means our blood cells responsible for immunity aren’t able to recognize the cancerous cells as being a problem and so the disease is able to continue to spread,” says Dr Wai Liu who led the research.

“This study found that a small quantity of BCG – similar to the amount that is administered in a TB inoculation can help the immune system recognize the cancer cells as ‘foreign’. The immune system can then attack these cells in the same way it would any other infection.” He concludes

When the BCG is introduced in the body cytokinins are released by the white blood cells in response, these cytokinins cause very many processes that begin by forcing the cancerous cells to switch off its camouflage or better yet “unmasking” the cancer cells. This makes the cancerous cells to be more visible to the white blood cells and the entire immune system. With this improved visibility of the tumor cells the white blood cells can now target the cancerous cell more strategically.

The effectiveness of the vaccine on different type of cancers was tested. The researchers did this by injecting BCG to the human cells from the lung, breast, colon, pancreatic and skin cancer. The test revealed that BCG increased the visibility of cancer cells on the colon, breast and lungs greatly. They verified that when camouflage of the cancer cells is reduced then they can be easily attacked and killed by the body’s immune system.

The Coley’s Vaccine

Coley’s vaccine also known as endotoxin treatment, Issel’s therapy or mixed bacterial vaccine was developed in New York City in 1890’s by a bone surgeon known as William Coley. Coley vaccine works and though currently doctors have found no scientific evidence that Coley’s vaccine can treat or prevent cancer there are many cancer survivors who claim to have used the Coley’s treatment.

Dr. William Coley developed the Coley’s therapy after realizing that the cancer      patients who got infections after surgery lived longer than those who did not get an infection. His basis for developing Coley’s treatment was an argument that the infection stimulated the immune system of the patients to fight cancer. The first approach to Coley’s treatment was rather risky as he would inject live bacteria in the tumors, in most cases this method caused serious illness and in some cases the patients died due to the infection. Having seen the dangers in using live bacteria, he began using killed bacteria which raised the patient’s temperatures but did not cause any threat to the patients’ lives.

The Coley’s vaccine uses infectious agents. The treatment has it that the infectious agents are injected in the bloodstream. These infectious agents however has to be prepared by a qualified doctor in the hospital to ensure that they are safe and not contaminated hence cannot harm the patient. The infectious agents maybe mixed in given proportions to come up with a Coley’s Vaccine personalized to the patient’s type of cancer. Coley’s Vaccine is mostly used with other traditional cancer treatment methods.

VaccineDr. Coley opined that fever induction is a key aspect of treatment. In his treatment he observed that a stronger febrile response was the symptom most associated with tumor regression. When researchers went deep to look into the Coley’s Vaccine treatment method it was found that it was more effective on patients whose fevers ranged between 38-40 degrees. The Patients who had no fever during treatment did not do so well in the treatment.

Dr. Dalal Akoury is an experienced integrative cancer doctor who has seen very many cancer patients journey to victory in their fight against cancer. She is available for consultations. Just call her now and begin your journey to victory against cancer.

Role of Cancer Vaccine In Integrative Cancer Treatment

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Off-label Drugs and Cancer

August 3, 2014

Use of off-label Drugs in Cancer Treatment

off-labelIn the past, there was a belief that when you had gone for cancer diagnosis then the only options of treatment you had were only chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery. This belief seemingly has refused to leave the minds of very many people even after medical researchers and other oncologists have done lots of work to avail various alternatives to cancer treatments. The researchers are giving us better ways of treating cancer everyday and all we ought to do is find an integrative cancer doctor who can make the best out of the discovered cancer treatment alternatives. The reason to why so many alternatives to cancer treatment are sought everyday is not because there is no cancer cure, no cancer unlike HIV has known cures all the doctors and researcher are trying to do is to find us a better cancer treatment that is free from all the severe and life threatening side effects that cancer patients have to embrace while undergoing the conventional cancer treatments. Some of these alternatives also work better when used alongside conventional cancer treatments like chemotherapy and radiation therapy. They also increase the effectiveness of the chemotherapy treatment as they induce the cancer cells to consume poisoned food particles, an example of this is the Insulin potentiation therapy that has been used to effectively target the cancer cells, killing them without causing any severe hurt to the healthy body cells. Other alternative cancer treatments have also proved their effectiveness in fighting cancer and so it is time to shift this belief in conventional cancer treatments and accept the new inventions that can help cancer patients to get better treatments. There are very many alternatives to cancer treatments and that is one of the reasons why AwareMed exists; to let you know of all the available options that you can utilize in case you become a victim of this dreaded disease. Here is one of the alternatives.

Use of Off-label Drugs

The off label use of drugs is to use medicine for another reason other than the intended purpose for which it was approved by the United States FDA or any other regulatory body. It is the use of drug for the purpose that is not on the official label, hence “off-label”. There are very many drugs that are meant to treat other diseases but can work very well in cancer treatment. The utilization of these off-label drugs is not something unusual, though they are not as common as they ought to be. The regulatory bodies have not supported the use of drugs approved for treatment of a particular disease to be used in treatment of another disease and this may explain why the use of off-label drugs is not that common. Cancer is a disease that is caused by many factors and so is it treatment facilitated by many factors. There are conditions that cancer shares with other diseases and so the treatment that works in those other diseases will work rather perfectly in cancer treatment. The integrative doctors knows the relationship between cancer and other diseases and whether the off-label drugs can work better in suppressing the tumor growth and restore the health of the cancer patient. Experienced integrative cancer doctors like Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) can help personalize the use of off-label drugs to help in healing the cancer patient better.

The off-label drugs can work in different ways to help in fighting the cancer. The avenues through which the off-label drugs work to treat cancer are numerous and are based on the common features that cancer shares with the said diseases. It is not strange to hear that diabetes drugs are used for cancer.

Diabetes Drugs for cancer

One of the great oncologist; Otto Warburg showed the dependence of cancer cells on glucose. In his experiments he proved that cancer cells depended solely on sugar sources of energy to survive and metastasize. Without sugar the cancer cell will be starved to death as they will not access the necessary nutrient supplies. Diabetes drugs are used to suppress the sugar level in the blood. These drugs work in favor of cancer treatment as they tend to reduce the amount of energy that is available for the cancer cells to survive on. An integrated oncologist may decide to use a diabetic drug to suppress the sugar level in a cancer patient and hasten the death of cancer cells out of starvation. As the cancer cell will be dying the healthy body cells will be using other sources of energy like fats to survive.

Apart from diabetes drugs, there are other medications that are useful in cancer treatment. Drugs used in enhancing immunity can be used to stimulate the white blood cells to fight cancer cells. Antibiotics that are not mentioned as cancer drugs may help in fighting cancer by inhibiting the enzymes that the cancer cells are dependent on.

Noscapine has also been found to be very effective in fighting cancer as it helps in cancer by preventing the division of cancer cells.

off-labelSome of the drugs used as anti-HIV can also be used in cancer treatment. Examples are ritonavir, nelfinavir and saquinavir. A test that was done by Dr. Phillip Dennis found that these drugs have an effect on the growth of cancer as they were found to kill cancer cells through apoptosis, necrosis and autophagy.

Dr. Dalal Akoury is an experienced integrative cancer doctor who has seen very many cancer patients journey to victory in their fight against cancer. She is available for consultations. Just call her now and begin your journey to victory against cancer.

Use of off-label Drugs in Cancer Treatment

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Detoxification therapies

August 2, 2014

Detoxification therapies – Drug Addiction

Detoxification

Detoxification therapies. These are treatment options meant to help eliminate toxic elements from the body

Detoxification is a broad term that incorporates many different ways of cleansing the body’s internal systems and organs. Major methods include chelation therapy (EDTA therapy), colonic irrigation and nutritional supplementation, several varieties of herbal medicine, dietary therapy, fasting, juicing, probiotics, hydrotherapy, sauna and exercise just to name a few.

When we talk of detoxification normally there are four main types of toxins being referred and they include:

  • Heavy metals
  • Chemical toxins
  • Microbial compounds
  • Byproducts from protein metabolism

In the layman’s terms these are impurities which needs to be removed from the body system and the process of removing them is what is known as detoxification. Therefore this process (detoxification) cleanses the body, clears the skin, enhances the senses, helps weight loss, improves fertility, improves flexibility, increases vitamin and mineral absorption, purifies, reduces blood fat levels, reduces symptoms of toxicity, rejuvenates, rests organs, and slows aging.

Found in almost all alternative medical systems from Ayurveda to naturopathic, detoxification techniques seek to cleanse the body of chemicals, pollutants and other toxins to improve overall health.

Detoxification therapists use a range of healing techniques after a diagnosis is made. The first step is to reduce a patient’s contact to all toxic or allergenic substances like heavy metals, chemicals, radiation (from x rays, power lines, cell phones, computer screens, and microwaves), smog, polluted water, foods, drugs, caffeine, alcohol, perfume, excess noise, and stress. If mercury poisoning has been established, the patient will be advised to have mercury fillings from the teeth removed, preferably by a holistic dentist.

Specific treatments are used to stimulate and assist the body’s detoxification process like:

  • Dietary change is immediately enacted
  • Eliminating allergic and unhealthy foods
  • Emphasizing foods that assist detoxification and support healing

Detoxification diets are generally low in fat, high in fiber, and vegetarian with a line of raw food emphasis while avoiding all kinds of processed foods, alcohol, and caffeine. In an effort to achieving this often nutritional supplement such as vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, amino acids, and essential fatty acids are often prescribed.

  • Spirulina is a sea algae which is frequently given to assist in eliminating heavy metals. Lipotropic agents are certain vitamins and nutrients that promote the flow of bile and fat from the liver.
  • Many herbal supplements are used in detoxification therapies as well. Milk thistle extract, called silymarin, is one of the more potent herbs for detoxifying the liver.
  • Naturopathy, Ayurvedic medicine, and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) recommend numerous herbal formulas for detoxification and immune strengthening.
  • When infections or parasites have been found, these are treated with herbal formulas and, in difficult cases, antibiotics.
  • For toxic bowel syndrome and digestive tract disorders, herbal laxatives and high fiber foods such as psyllium seeds may be given to cleanse the digestive tract and promote elimination.
  • Colonics are used to cleanse the lower intestines. Digestive enzymes are prescribed to improve digestion, and acidophilus and other friendly bacteria are reintroduced into the system with nutritional supplements.

Detoxification therapies – Fasting, Chelation and Sweating Therapy

Fasting is another major therapy in detoxification. Fasting is one of the quickest ways to promote the elimination of stored toxins in the body and to prompt the healing process. People with severe toxic conditions are supervised closely during fasting because the number of toxins in the body temporarily increases as they are being released.

Chelation therapy is used by detoxification specialists to rid the body of heavy metals. Chelates are particular substances that bind to heavy metals and speed their elimination. Homeopathic remedies have also been shown to be effective for removing heavy metals.

Sweating therapies can also detoxify the body because the skin is a major organ of elimination. Sweating helps release those toxins that are stored in the subcutaneous (under the skin) fat cells. Saunas, therapeutic baths, and exercise are some of these treatments. Body therapies may also be prescribed, including massage therapy, acupressure, shiatsu, manual lymph drainage, and polarity therapy. These body therapies seek to improve circulatory and structural problems, reduce stress, and stimulate healing responses in the body. Mind and body therapies such as psychotherapy, counseling, and stress management techniques may be used to heal the psychological components of illness and to help patients overcome their negative patterns contributing to illness.

Detoxification therapies – The treatment costs element

The costs of detoxification therapies can vary widely, depending on the number of tests and treatments required. Detoxification treatments can be lengthy and involving since illnesses associated with toxic conditions usually develop over many years and may not clear up quickly. Detoxification treatments may be lengthy because they often go all-out for the holistic healing of the body, mind, and emotions.

Experts may be conventionally trained medical doctors with specialties in environmental medicine or interests in alternative treatment. The majority of detoxification therapists are alternative practitioners, such as naturopaths, homeopaths, ayurvedic doctors, or traditional Chinese doctors. However the insurance coverage varies, depending on the practitioner and the treatment involved. It is important that the intended consumers review their individual insurance policies regarding treatment coverage.

Detoxification therapies – Preparations

For quick diagnosis and treatment the experts may relay on the patients history and therefore it is important for patients to write down by way of keeping their detailed diaries of all their activities, symptoms, and contact with environmental factors that may be affecting their health. Reducing exposure to environmental toxins and making immediate dietary and lifestyle changes may speed the detoxification process.

Detoxification therapies – Side effects

During the detoxification process, patients may experience side effects of fatigue, malaise, aches and pains, emotional duress, acne, headaches, allergies, and symptoms of colds and flu. Detoxification specialists claim that these negative side effects are part of the healing process. These reactions are sometimes called healing crises, which are caused by temporarily increased levels of toxins in the body due to elimination and cleansing.

Finally as mention the process of detoxification is done after certain diagnosis are done meaning that in doing this you will need to be in close touch with the an expert to take you through the process. Doctor Dalal Akoury thou founded AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center is a medical expert with accumulated experience of more than two decade and is helping people all over the world in solving their addiction related problems in the most natural way while focusing on Neuroendocrine Restoration (NER) to reinstate normality through realization of the oneness of Spirit, Mind, and Body, Unifying the threesome into ONE. Together with her team of experts all your addiction problems will be professionally addressed and you will not only be free from addiction, but also get your life back living it to the fullest. This is an experience I believe you are not keen in missing.

Detoxification therapies – Drug Addiction

 

 

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