Tag Archives: Management of cancer

Pomegranate Juice and Prostate Cancer

September 3, 2014

Research Shows That Pomegranate Juice Slows Rate of Growth in Prostate Cancer Cells

Prostate cancer

Today there are very many alternatives that cancer patients can use when seeking treatment. Nature has always given the best treatment for most diseases and cancer is no exception.

Cancer is a disease that has terrorized the human race. It is a killer disease that to many people may sound a death sentence. It has also proved to be extremely expensive to treat especially through conventional methods. Over the past years cancer treatment had been that of pain and agony. The disease in itself is synonymous to pain plus the treatment that were used in a bid to help the patients ended up adding them more pain if at least it did not kill them at all. In the past years the most known cancer treatments were chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery. Cancer treatment through surgery has the same risk as any other medical surgery. It involved removing the tumor cells. On the other hand chemotherapy and radiation therapy are methods that aims at killing the cancer cells therefore reducing their spread or better yet killing them outright. These two methods of treatment also kills the healthy cells and so the patient faces lots of risk in that he may also die from the side effects of the treatment.

For these reasons medical researchers, nutritionists among other bodies have been developing ways of killing the cancerous cells without affecting the healthy body cells. Several alternative approaches to cancer treatment have been developed and some are still developed as doctors are in endless discoveries on better treatment of the disease. Among the recently discovered cancer treatment alternative is the use of pomegranate juice which is specifically effective in treating prostate cancer.

Pomegranate juice is known to have very many antioxidants that may help in fighting very many diseases. However this does not necessarily mean that it can cure prostate cancer or any other type of cancer until a research finding finds out that it does so. Pom wonderful, a company that deals in products made from pomegranate has been promoting their juice as having the ability to fight prostate cancer among other benefits. It therefore funded very many researches to prove that certainly pomegranate juice has ability to fight prostate cancer. However when a company that makes a product funds research about its product, the findings will be perceived as biased.

Studies on this subject

Of all these studies only one study has been published in a peer-reviewed medical journal that looks at the effect of drinking pomegranate juice on prostate cancer. This study was done in 2006 and was funded by Pom Wonderful. The company has often used the findings of this study as a proof of its claims that their juice can help fight prostate cancer. The study involved 46 men who were either treated through surgery or radiation for prostate cancer. These men had rising prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels, which is interpreted as a sign that their prostate cancer had reoccurred. They were given 8 ounces of Pom Wonderful to drink daily for about 2 years. The study found that the men’s rising PSA levels slowed, which shows that the rate of their prostate cancer growth was slowed.

Other studies have also been done. In one of these studies, the scientists grew cells from the most aggressive human prostate cancer in cultured tissues. In this study it was found that prostate cancer reduced the rate of the growth of cancer cells and caused apoptosis in the prostate cancer cells. Researchers again planted prostate cancer cells in mice. Some of the mice were given water that was laced with pomegranate juice while others were not given pomegranate juice. It was found that prostate cancer cell growth was reduced in the mice that were treated with pomegranate juice. By the end of the experiment it was found that the mice that were not treated with pomegranate juice had larger tumors than those that were treated with pomegranate juice. The researchers also did test on men with prostate cancer where it was found that pomegranate juice increased the PSA doubling time. The longer the PSA doubling time the slower the tumor growth rate. This research was not funded by pom wonderful and so is more believable.

prostrate Cancer

Pomegranate has not only been promoted for prostate cancer treatment but has also been found to be potent enough to promote cardiovascular health. When studies were done on test tubes, animals and humans it was found that it has very many benefits in treating cardiovascular diseases. It has the ability to protect bad cholesterol from oxidative damage. Other clinical studies revealed that the carotid artery thickness reduced greatly and blood flow was also improved in those people who drank pomegranate.

These earlier studies have given grounds that pomegranate has very many health benefits and has the potential of mitigating the effects of prostate cancer by reducing the rate of tumor growth. However there is need for more research in this field to ascertain the effectiveness of pomegranate in treating prostate cancer. Meanwhile if you decide to use pomegranate in treating your cancer, discuss with your doctor first.

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.

Research Shows That Pomegranate Juice Slows Rate of Growth in Prostate Cancer Cells

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Essential Oils for Cancer: Applied as Cancer Treatment

August 30, 2014

Essential Oils Help in Easing the Side Effects of Chemotherapy during Treatment

essential oils

essential oils

The word cancer has become synonymous to death in the minds of many people. Needless to say its closest relative is death! Cancer has continued to rob us of our loved ones and it has put doctors and Researchers on their toes trying to get better ways to treat the disease. Among the most common type of cancer is the breast cancer which has come synonymous to death of many women throughout the world. In the United States alone it has been claiming at least 40,000 lives that is from 2010. It has not only been the prevalent form of cancer in America only but in the rest of the world. In fact it is the disease that claims more lives year in year out. Other cancers such as the lung cancer, bone cancer and prostate cancer have also caused hurt to the world’s population.

The risk of acquiring some certain cancers increases with age especially the prostate and breast cancers but again just like other forms of cancer good nutrition can help reduce your risks of getting this dreaded disease. There are toxic compounds in the air we breathe and even the foods we eat are never a safe bet since most of the foods have been chemically grown to protect them from pests, some of these chemical residues remain in the foods and find their ways right into our bodies. Most commercially grown poultry are genetically modified to grow faster and as known genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are not good for health and can foster growth of cancer cells as they may alter DNA composition

The toxicity in our environments calls for healthy eating, eating foods that are rich in anti oxidants that can flush the toxins that may trigger growth of cancerous cells out of our bodies. Vegetables and fruits are always encouraged since most of them are rich in nutrients that can feed our cells and at the same time they are rich in antioxidants that help us in fighting cancerous cells and keeping as cancer free. Researchers have now availed another way of fighting cancer and that’s by using some essential oils that are believed to have anticancer property.

Some of the essential oils for treating cancer

The use of essential oils in fighting cancer was not very easy in the past as the practitioners were afraid to use it just in case it fails or interacts negatively with the conventional cancer treatment methods like chemotherapy and radiation therapy. However, therapists trained in aromatherapy have been using the essential oils to promote healing after chemotherapy and even during chemotherapy to reduce the side effects that these conventional cancer treatments are feared for. The aromatherapists safely use these essential oils in cancer treatment and restore health in cancer patients.

Some of the essential oils that are known to have a positive effect in fighting most type of cancers include; Frankincense, Balsam Fir, Thyme, Hyssop, Sandalwood, Tsuga and Orange. These oils are effective in fighting cancer and they are available in capsules that may be taken orally. The capsule contains drops of these oils that may be combined with carrier oil. It is however advisable to use more of these essential oils since when one oil is used for a long time the body may become resistant to it, therefore for better results you can alternate the essential oils within a period of three to four weeks.

Essential oils for cancer treatment

Essential oils for cancer treatment

The use of essential oils in cancer treatment has been endorsed by different people all over the world. One of the experts who have endorsed the use of essential oils in cancer treatment is Cherie Perez, a supervising research nurse in M. D. Anderson’s Department of Genitourinary Medical Oncology. Perez teaches the cancer patients the art of aromatherapy. Perez says that the use of essential oils in cancer treatment helps in soothing the cancer patients and reduces their stress and anxiety during treatment. Perez says that one of the major complaints from cancer patients is that of anxiety and sleeplessness. When patients are relaxed they sleep well which helps in promoting healing.

Perez says that aromatherapy can be used in cancer treatment to ease the pain that patients go through during chemotherapy and radiation therapy. The use of essential oils also helps mitigate some of the side effects of conventional therapies like chemotherapy and radiation therapy which most patients find hard to endure. Perez advises that however soothing aromatherapy is to cancer patients it needs to be handled by an expert in order for the patient to receive its full benefits and guarantee safety of use.

Radiation therapy causes major skin problems and therefore anything that is to be applied on the skin should be approached carefully. Whatever oil is to be used in aromatherapy should be evaluated by an expert as haphazard application of phototoxic oils can cause even more harm. Skin sensitization is also an issue that should be avoided. It is advisable to avoid the use of phototoxic oils as they cause light-related irritation and even darkening of the skin when exposed to certain types of light. Some of the phototoxic oils include; Lemon, Angelica, Bergamot, Grapefruit, Mandarin and Lime.

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.

Essential Oils Help in Easing the Side Effects of Chemotherapy during Treatment

 

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Vitamin C and K3 in Cancer Treatment

August 19, 2014

Research Shows That Vitamin C and K3 Are Effective In Fighting Cancer

Vitamin CCancer has put doctors on ‘motion’ never resting always trying to come up with better ways of cancer treatment. Maybe the more alternatives the better the treatment! Integrative cancer doctors have had much more alternatives to cancer treatments and some alternatives are added every now and then and this situation is not about to end as doctors are still working day and night to give us the best cancer treatment alternatives.  The availability of many cancer treatment alternatives therefore requires that every cancer patient should know the kind of treatment that suits his case but of course with help from an integrative cancer doctor. There are naturopathic cancer treatments that have gained recognition for their whole person healing intent and while chemotherapy has been negatively thought of by many patients some improvements have been done to improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy by improving drug uptake by the cancerous cells while reducing chemotherapy drug resistance by the cancer cells which is normally a problem. With these improvements like the use of IPT among others, even the patients are not afraid of it anymore as the side effects are minimal. Some of the cancer treatment alternatives that we have today include the use of vitamin C and vitamin k3 in cancer treatment.

Vitamin C in treating cancer? I know it might be a problem to accept that vitamin C can be used in cancer treatment because you might have been told never to use vitamin C while undergoing chemotherapy. This is because vitamin C is an antioxidant which to many cancer doctors is supposed to interfere with chemotherapy treatment but what most doctors have not known is that vitamin C when used in high doses and given intravenously can be very helpful in cancer treatment as it becomes a pro-oxidant which leads to cancer cell death.

There are studies that have supported the use vitamin c in high doses and given intravenously in cancer treatment. In two Scottish studies, terminal cancer patients given intravenous vitamin C at 10 g per day showed longer survival times than historical controls. Apparently this is not the only study that has been done on vitamin C and its ability to kill cancerous cell. Another study; A Japanese study showed similar results and this are very encouraging. However at mayo clinic a double blinded study of the same using oral vitamin C supplementation did not show any benefit in fighting cancer.

Researchers have shown that oral vitamin C supplementation cannot work well in fighting cancer as it doesn’t produce plasma ascorbate levels that are sufficient enough to kill tumor cells directly. This is the reason why doctors recommend the use of vitamin C intravenously.

When vitamin C is given intravenously, they turn into hydrogen peroxide inside the cancerous cells which then causes the cells to die by poisoning them. This does not affect the healthy body cells negatively since unlike the cancerous cells the healthy body cells have the ability to fight the damage that is caused by the hydrogen peroxide. This allows for selective killing of the cancerous cells while the healthy body cells are left without harm.

Currently there is an ongoing study of Vitamin C by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as an adjunctive therapy for cancer. In their 2008 report, the National Institutes of Health stated that the vitamin C when used in high doses reduced the rate of tumor growth by 50 percent in mice that were infected with brain cancer, ovarian cancer and pancreatic cancer. The researchers revealed that Vitamin C got its high anticancer effect from its ability to produce hydrogen peroxide inside the cancer cells killing them outright. Even in this experiment the healthy body cells were not affected by the poisonous effect of the vitamin C.

Vitamin C More effective when Combined with Vitamin K3 in Cancer

Researchers have proved that the cell killing abilities of sodium ascorbate or other vitamin C and combination of 2-methyl-1, 4-naphthoquinone K3 is highly increased.  These have been tested on human ovarian cancer, breast cancer, endometrial cancer and skin cancer cells. These vitamins can work even when given separately. When given separately they have an antigrowth effect on the tumors but must be highly concentrated. When both the vitamins were used as a single mixture, they demonstrated a synergistic inhibition of cell growth by up to 10 – 50 times in lower concentrations. The best part of this combination is that it does not affect the healthy body cells at all. The researchers also observed that when vitamin C and Vitamin K3 inhibited metastasis.

Vitamin CThe mechanism by which vitamin C and vitamin K3 work in killing cancer is called autoschizic cell death. This is a novel type of cell death characterized by exaggerated cell membrane damage and progressive loss of cell contents. A process during which the nucleus becomes smaller, cell size decreases one-half to one-third of its original size.  Co-administration of sodium ascorbate and K3 induces a cell cycle block on cancer cells making it harder for them to grow and divide.  This is called a G1/S block. The intravenous vitamin cocktail containing sodium ascorbate and vitamin K3 diminishes cancer cell DNA synthesis, increases hydrogen peroxide production, and decreases cancer cell intracellular antioxidant defenses thereby killing them easily.

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.

Research Shows That Vitamin C and K3 Are Effective In Fighting Cancer

 

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Mitosis Inhibitors

August 18, 2014

Use of Mitosis inhibitors in cancer treatment

MitosisMedical researchers have done lots of research in the past and still there is lots of research going on in the field of oncology. All these researches that are going on are geared towards giving us the best cancer treatments that will enable us to get better treatment at affordable cost and at reduced risk of the life threatening side effects that most conventional cancer therapies are known for. The work of these researchers is evident in the many cancer alternatives that are now available. Integrative oncologists have made use of both conventional as well naturopathic cancer therapies in treating cancer but there has never been a stop to research on oncology as the doctors are still in pursuit of the ideal cancer therapy. There are known metabolic adaptations of the cancer cell that has led to development of these therapies that are geared towards inhibiting cancer cell survival as well as spreading. One of the ways of fighting cancer is by use of mitosis inhibitors.

For cancer cells to spread there are processes that must be accomplished. Before certain processes are accomplished, the cancer cells cannot spread to other body parts making it easier to fight them. For example there must be angiogenesis for cancer cell metastasis. This has availed an avenue that doctors have used to fight metastasis. Mitosis is also another crucial process in cancer cell survival and spreading. Mitosis inhibitors are therefore effective in cancer treatment.

Noscapine as mitosis inhibitor

Noscapine is a compound found in plants of the poppy family. This compound has medicinal properties but unlike morphine it does not kill pain neither is it addictive. In the past noscapine had been used infighting coughs and is an ingredient in most cough drugs sold over the counter. Currently researchers have discovered that noscapine is also good in fighting cancer.

Mitosis is a process by which body cells duplicates themselves giving rise to genetically identical cells daughter cells. Mitosis encourages the cancerous cells to divide uncontrollably giving rise to many cancer cells that spread throughout the body making it hard to fight cancer. Mitosis occurs through spindle formation. During spindle formation, spindles pull chromosomes to the opposite sides of the cell in preparation for the cell division. Without spindle formation the survival of the daughter cells is not possible as they are separated without getting the appropriate genetic composition from the parent cell. Noscapine inhibits spindle formation therefore making it hard for the newly divided cancer cells to survive hence it affects mitosis which in turn helps in fighting cancer.

Researchers have also discovered that this compound does not only help in cancer treatment by inhibiting spindle formation. Research has shown that this compound has very powerful anticancer ability. Noscapine is said to contain strong cell killing properties that enables it to kill tumor cells before they duplicate and metastasize.

Noscapine is also very effective as an anti-angiogenesis. Angiogenesis is the formation of new blood vessels. Cancer cannot spread without angiogenesis as it is through angiogenesis that that the tumors get fed. Supplies like nutrients pass through these new blood vessels to reach the tumors and so if angiogenesis cannot happen then the growth and spread of the tumors will be inhibited and the tumor cells will be starved. It does this by inhibiting HIF-1 alpha which supports the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Vascular endothelial is known to stimulate the growth of new blood vessels.

Noscapine also helps in fighting cancer by inhibiting bradikinin which is a very powerful cancer growth factor. Oncologists have learnt that any drug that can inhibit bradikinin can be very essential in cancer treatment just as chemotherapy. In fact majority of research findings point out those agents that inhibit bradikinin are better at reducing cancer cell growth than even chemotherapy.

Noscapine has very strong anticancer abilities a fact that has led to it being used by many oncologists in their clinics to treat cancer. Noscapine has been found to be exceptionally effective in treating most type of cancers like breast, prostate, lung, ovarian, brain, and lymphomas. Though it is known to many as just a cough suppressant, it can be very effective in cancer treatment.

A research study done in 2010 Current Drug Targets proved that noscapine is not only good as anti-mitosis but was also very effective as it made the cancer cells more vulnerable to chemotherapy. Researchers have opined that cancer patients on chemotherapy can benefit from the use of noscapine to increase the cell killing ability of the chemotherapy treatment.

This research supports the use of noscapine in cancer treatment citing its effectiveness. The medical research finding availed information that supports Noscapine as an effective anti-cancer agent. The study findings stated that Noscapine was the most effective anticancer after it was discovered that it induces cancer cell apoptosis. The experiment used Mg-63 tumor cells which are a common type of bone tumor.

MitosisDr. Israel Barken from San Diego is one of the doctors who have come out openly to be using the noscapine in treating cancer. However he has been using it to treat his prostate cancer patients alone. He availed information on his website that proved that Noscapine reduced prostate cancer in mice greatly.

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.

Use of Mitosis inhibitors in cancer treatment

 

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Angiogenesis Inhibitors and Cancer

August 15, 2014

Angiogenesis Inhibitors Play A Great Role In Cancer Treatment

AngiogenesisMetastatic static cancer is a fear of every cancer patient. Metastasis makes it hard for cancer to be treated. However cancer cannot metastasize without angiogenesis which is the sprouting of new blood vessels. The oncologists can best avoid metastasis by avoiding angiogenesis which is only achieved by use of angiogenesis inhibitors.

Angiogenesis defined

Angiogenesis is a process through which blood vessels are formed. Angiogenesis occurs naturally during the growth and development of children. The mother’s womb has to form new blood vessels that are important in the development of the infant. This is a crucial process in the foetus. However in adults this process happens less often and may happen during wound healing. In women it happens during the menstruation cycle. When this formation of new blood vessels is induced by tumor, it is referred to as tumor angiogenesis. This happens when the tumors release molecules that signal the surrounding tissues. It is this signaling that activates genes that make proteins to initiate growth of new blood vessels. These new blood vessels penetrate into the cancerous cells and help them grow by supplying them with the needed nutrients and removing wastes out of them hence creating an environment that favors their growth and metastasis.

Without angiogenesis tumors cannot grow and metastasize, it is therefore a necessity without which the cancerous cells will become inactive and will even die. When the new blood vessels have been formed it become hard for the cancer to be treated. The cancer patient will have to endure pain as the tumors will be growing at a faster rate since they have adequate nutrient supplies which they receive though these newly formed blood vessels therefore they can be controlled when these nutrient supplies are cut and that is what angiogenesis inhibitors does.

This discovery that cancer cells depend on angiogenesis to grow and metastasize has led to development of many cancer treatments that target angiogenesis. These therapies can be very effective in fighting this disease since it doesn’t affect the healthy body cells. Moreover if angiogenesis can be inhibited then all cancers can be controlled since it is a necessity for growth of tumors in all cancers. When angiogenesis is inhibited the cancer cells are denied of their supplies and they will automatically die of starvation.

Copper is a necessity for Angiogenesis

Copper is a trace element the needs to highly regulated as any slight homeostatic copper disruptions may result in serious health complications such as the Wilson’s disease. Copper is necessity for angiogenesis. Without copper angiogenesis cannot take place. It is therefore evident that Copper fuels cancer tumor growth and metastasis. Angiogenetic inhibitors can be used to curb this situation. Tetrathiomolybdate (TM) is effective in copper chelation.  Researchers have proved that TM forms a stable tripartite complex with copper and protein. When given with food, it chelates food copper with food protein and inhibits absorption of copper in the bloodstream. There is endogenous secretion of copper in saliva and gastric secretions associated with food intake, and this copper is also chelated by TM when it is taken with meals, thereby preventing copper re-absorption.

Medical researchers have done test on the effectiveness of the tetrathiomolybdate (TM) on mice that were injected with cancer cells and left for a week for angiogenesis to begin. After the new blood vessels had been formed the mice was injected tetrathiomolybdate (TM). The angiogenesis stopped and the tumor growth stopped. However from researches that had been done in the past it was concluded that tetrathiomolybdate (TM) has a unique action on the copper that fuels angiogenesis and retarded tumor growth with minimal side effects. When cancer patients are given TM with food they get a negative copper balance which is not good angiogenesis. The copper that is bound by TM cannot do any meaningful biological activity as it cannot be absorbed by cells and is excreted in the urine having been cleared by bile hence tamed.

Normally, the level of copper that is needed for angiogenesis is much higher as compared to the amount of copper that is needed for cellular activities that are dependent on cancer like cytochrome function and heme synthesis. Cancer therapy that are based on anti-copper may work well as the copper needed for cellular activities will be retained even when TM is used to as an anti-copper angiogenic agent.

Low molecular weight heparins inhibits metastasis

AngiogenesisIt has also been found out that Low molecular weight heparins helps in improving the cancer patient’s chances of survival as it inhibits metastasis. The low molecular weight heparins are able to inhibit metastasis by preventing cancer cell triggered destruction of the endothelial glycocalyx. In experimental animal models and clinical tests; it was found that the low molecular weight heparins protects against cancer progression and metastasis. The scientists say this is possible as the low molecular weight inhibits metastasis interfering with the cancer cell binding on the platelets. Cancer cell needs to attach themselves to the platelets to move to other parts of the body. Low molecular weight heparins also inhibit metastasis through binding of heparanase or hyaluronidase thereby protecting the vascular endothelium from invasion by the cancer cells.
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.

Angiogenesis Inhibitors Play A Great Role In Cancer Treatment

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