Tag Archives: Management of cancer

Gene Therapy, Epigenetic Gene Therapy

August 14, 2014

Gene Therapy Is an Effective Cancer Treatment Alternative

Gene TherapyCancer has continued to threaten the very existence of the human race. Being a disease with numerous causes, it has become so hard to evade it completely. This has led to doctors trying to find the best ways of curbing it or better yet do away with it completely. Researchers have given foundations upon which these alternative cancer treatments can be based. The researchers have even studied and known the cancer cell survival mechanisms and this has led to emergency of very many alternatives that all affect the cancer cell survival in a way. Just like farmers know-the best way to do away with a weed is to uproot it completely as it will not grow again lest another seed is planted. The best way to treat cancer is to find a way of doing away with it from the roots. Unfortunately most of the cancer treatments that our loved ones are subjected to are only focused on killing the cancer cell and reducing the severity of the symptoms. This is why there are cases of repeated chemotherapies that instead of helping in killing the cancerous cells only make the cancerous cells more resistant to the drugs. Our environments expose us to myriads of carcinogens that affect the DNA make up of our body cells. There are very dangerous heavy metals that will make us prone to cancer when we interact with them consistently and this is a problem that has been facing industrial workers over the years. Upon intrusion into the body they are likely to affect our DNA make up resulting in gene mutation which is synonymous to cancer. Genes play an important role in cancer treatment and so therapies that target the gene may go a long way in healing the cancer patients, that is Gene Therap

Changes that take place in a gene are most likely to cause cancer .these changes that take place in a gene that increases cancer risk may happen due to exposure to environmental carcinogens like smoking tobacco and other potential gene mutants that emanate from the surrounding. However a person may inherit faulty genes from the parents making him have a higher risk of getting cancer. A person may inherit faulty genes from the parent but if he adopts a healthy lifestyle and evade all the potential gene mutants then he may not get the disease.

What is gene therapy?

Cancer being caused by gene mutations it is better to have a way of treating the cancer by repairing the faulty genes or better yet replacing them with functional genes so that the routine gene functions are revived. Gene therapy is a way of repairing genetic problems. This can be achieved by adding a functional copy of the defective gene. When a functional copy of a faulty gene is added, the tissues  and organs that might have been affected by the gene mutations will begin to function in the right way. The gene therapy works better because unlike other cancer treatments that only treat the symptoms it goes deeper correcting all the genetic problems.

In cancer treatment most commonly, gene therapy uses a vector, typically a virus, to deliver a gene to the mutated cells where it’s needed to enable proper functions of the cell. Once its inside, the cell’s gene-reading machinery uses the information in the gene to build RNA and protein molecules. The proteins (or RNA) can then carry out their job in the cells. When the normal functioning of the genes is achieved the cancer cell duplication is inhibited and this is a better strategy in cancer treatment.

Scientists are still developing several gene-therapies that will be very helpful in cancer treatment. One of the best therapies so far discovered is the use of a modified version of herpes simplex 1 virus. Herpes simplex 1 virus is known to cause cold sores yet it has been found to have the ability to effectively fight cancer especially the cancer of the skin (melanoma) that has spread in the body.

To make the use of herpes simplex 1 virus safer, the doctors will modify the virus in such a way that it will not cause the cold sores that it is known for. This treatment is referred to T- VEC. This treatment is also safer than other conventional cancer treatments as it does not affect the healthy body cells but is very effective in destroying the cancer cells. It stimulates the immune system enabling it to spot the cancer cells present in the body and fighting them. When the virus is injected into the tumor it produces more of itself by replication inside the tumor until they burst thereby producing even more of them that can infect many more cancer cells.

Gene TherapyIn a trial to show the effectiveness of the gene therapy, 59 patients suffering from the cancer of the blood had their immune systems cells removed and treated with a virus that genetically altered their genetic structure in order to spot the proteins that covers the surfaces of the cancer cells. The immune cells were then returned into the patient’s body. More than half of the patients experienced complete remission giving proof to the strength of the gene therapy in cancer treatment.

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.

Gene Therapy Is an Effective Cancer Treatment Alternative

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Oncothermia and Cancer

August 14, 2014

Oncothermia and Hyperthermia As Used In Cancer Treatment

oncothermiaCancer treatment is getting advanced day by day and all this is attributed to the work that scientists have continued to do to find better ways of putting this monster where it belongs-history. Despite the many alternative cancer treatments that we have today, the research work on cancer is yet to stop. There are very many ways through which a cancer patient can be treated and it is better to find an integrative cancer center where the experienced integrative oncologists can find the best treatment that is personalized to suit your situation. The integrative cancer doctors are the best as they are able to incorporate both naturopathic and conventional cancer treatment methods to come up with the best ways to combat the disease. All these improvements in the field of oncology are driven by a common purpose which is to find a treatment that is strategic enough in killing the cancerous cells while having minimal or no side effects at all. Unlike HIV/AIDS cancer is treatable and cancer patients have received treatment even with the conventional cancer treatments but the cancer treatment duration is synonymous to pain due to the hurt that is caused by these treatments. Conventional chemotherapy affects the healthy cells as well as the cancer cells and this leads to side effects that threatens the lives of the cancer patients who have since opted for better ways of cancer treatment that are devoid of all the life threatening side effects that are always the result of haphazard conventional chemotherapy. Some of the improvements that have been made in the field of oncology include. Oncothermia and Hyperthermia.

Hyperthermia

Hyperthermia is a condition in which the body temperatures are higher than the normal degrees. Hyperthermia can be caused by certain diseases but it can also be created by medical experts to help in treatment of certain diseases especially cancer. In this case it is referred to as heat treatment. Higher than normal temperatures are known to cause various health complications but in hyperthermia the heat is under careful control of qualified medical personnel hence cannot kill the patient but only kill the cancerous cells.

Thermal treatment helps in making the cancer cells more vulnerable to treatments like chemotherapy and radiation therapy. High temperatures may also kill the cancer cells instantly. Hyperthermia is very effective in treatment of cancer but it may also lead to the death of healthy cells for this reason it needs to be handled by doctors who are well versed in the area and can take good control of the heat so as to avoid harm to the patient.

The cancer cells are killed when the proteins in them get coagulated and the blood vessels that supply them with nutrients are killed. This leaves a place that is cooked hence no living cancer cell. Various sources of energy can be used in this process including Radio waves, microwaves, and ultrasound waves.

Hyperthermia can be either internally or externally. When done external the source of heat is focused on a specific area of the patients body while in internal ablation involves using a needle that is pricked into the tumor. The needle releases lots of heat at the tip killing the cancerous cells.

Hyperthermia can be used in treatment of cancers that are deeply rooted in the internal organs. It is the method that is used in killing cancer cells in brain tumors. This technique is called Interstitial and it releases lots of heat than the external thermal ablation. Needles that release heat are used in the tumor to kill the cells in it.

Oncothermia

Just like hyperthermia, Oncothermia also involves increase in temperatures of the patients but of course this is a more improved approach towards killing the cancerous cells. Oncothermiahas cell-selective focus on the tumor and it is free from dangerous hot spots. The main advantage of Oncothermia as a cancer treatment alternative is its self-selective ability and its apoptosis oriented cell-killing mechanism. It induces apoptosis in the cancer cells inhibiting their destructive functions. This is not a new alternative to conventional cancer treatments as it has been used in cancer treatments over the past centuries. It is a common cancer treatment in Asia and Europe among other continents.

Oncothermia uses modulated and filtered frequency in a bid to destroy the cancer cells more selectively. Researchers have proved that when the frequency of heat is modulated precisely, energy focus is increased which increases the effectiveness of this method in killing the cancerous cells as well as the safety of the healthy cells. This method is more strategic in targeting the cancerous cells. The tumors are exposed to high temperatures that are regulated by experienced doctors to destroy the blood vessels that the tumor depends on as well as killing the cancerous cells outright. It is not solely about increasing the temperatures but is about how those temperatures can be focused on a tumor for a given time.

oncothermiaThe controlled heat is focused on the organ or region affected by the tumor. The process may involve use of capacitive deep hyperthermia device to stimulate energy absorption by the malignant cells after which the tumors are heated to induce apoptosis. Oncothermia can also be used with conventional cancer treatment methods like chemotherapy as it increases the vulnerability of the cancerous cells to Chemotherapy drugs.

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.

Oncothermia and Hyperthermia As Used In Cancer Treatment

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Targeting Cancer Stem Cells in Treatment

August 13, 2014

Fighting Cancer Stem Cells Is Key In Effective Cancer Treatment

Cancer Stem CellThe rapid uncontrolled growth and duplication of cells is what leads to cancer. The rapid and uncontrolled division of cells is caused by mutations in the DNA that inhibit the vital functions of natural tumor suppressors while signaling some genes to hasten cell division. Currently in the entire world cancer is among the most feared diseases that are causing millions of people to lose their lives earlier than they should. In the United Kingdom alone, about 275,000 are diagnosed with cancer every year and about 150,000 of this people die. Most of these patients die after attempting many cancer treatments both conventional and other new alternative cancer treatments. Evidently they die because the treatments they opt for are not effective enough to treat this disease. Most of these treatments focus on killing the cancer cells which may only help in extending the lives of the cancer patients but do nothing to treat the patient. Some of the cancer treatments that focus on cancer cells may relieve the patients of the symptoms of the disease and assume treatment within sometimes but the disease will re-occur since the disease is not targeted from the roots. Most of these treatments will control cancer by inhibiting the growth of cancer cells or killing the cancer cells, other treatments may combine both approaches in fighting cancer. These treatments will work in cancer treatments but unfortunately the disease will re-occur. Therefore it is crucial to understand why this disease may re-occur after ‘successful’ treatment so that alternative therapies can be used to completely do away with this disease in the patients.

Cancer often reoccurs after treatment because in a tumor there are very many different cancer cells that might not be destroyed by the treatment. A treatment may target a certain type of cancer cell while the other cells are not targeted. This many lead to the other untargeted cells to grow and divide.

Normal Stem cells are able to renew and regenerate damaged tissues. New research shows that cancer cells may originate from the normal stem cells. Basically just like the normal stem cells the cancer stem cells are able to self renew and duplicate. The stem cancer theory proposes that within the tumors there are some cancer cells that act as stem cells that duplicate themselves rapidly hence sustaining the tumor just like the normal stem cells normally regenerate worn out tissues and renew the health of our organs. This view on cancer cell survival mechanisms shows that cancer cells may attack our bodies but may not be able to sustain the tumor for a long time therefore it is the cancer stem cells that are much of a problem in cancer treatment.

The discovery of the crucial role that cancer stem cells play in the growth and spread of cancer helps a great deal. This helps us realize that using the cancer treatments methods that only focus on the killing and shrinking of tumors may not help in the long run if the cancer stem cells are not targeted and destroyed. It is often quite unfortunate that cancer cells that are reoccurring row with such a resistance to chemotherapy drugs. Therefore cancer therapies that are only evaluated on their abilities to kill cancerous cells and shrink the tumors should be encourage for use if the patients needs to be cancer free – which I guess all cancer patients hopes for. As I have always said farmers may know this better than doctors. The best way to do away with a weed is to uproot it from the ground leaving no root in the soil. However low a weed is cut, if a single root is left in the soil then it will grow again. So treating cancer effectively will only be achieved by doing away with the cancer stem cells. Cancer stem cells are also very important in cancer metastasis hence should be targeted for a more affective cancer treatment.

Foods that inhibit growth of cancer stem cells

Nutrition plays a major role in controlling the growth of cancer cells in our bodies. The foods you eat will either put you at risk of cancer or help you even stay safer from the disease. Cancer stem cells play a great role in tumor growth and metastasis and therefore foods that inhibit the growth of cancer stem cells to be on the safer side. Researchers have done much to avail us best foods that can help us evade the risk of cancer. Most of these foods are nature given and are rich in cancer fighting properties. Here are three dietary compounds that inhibit growth of cancer stem cells.

v  piperine found in black  pepper

v  Curcumin found in turmeric.

v  Sulforaphane found in broccoli and broccoli sprouts.

Cancer Stem CellThese three dietary components have been proved to inhibit the growth of cancer stem cells by interfering with their signaling pathways.  The cancer stem cell pathways have been studied by scientists especially on the ability of these cancer stem cells to renew themselves and these pathways are evident in most types of cancers therefore the use of these dietary compounds that inhibit the functions of these pathways will help in treatment of all cancers.

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.

Fighting Cancer Stem Cells Is Key In Effective Cancer Treatment

 

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Dendritic Cell Therapy

August 9, 2014

Dendritic Cell Therapy, Virotherapy and PDT As Used In Cancer Treatment

DendriticCancer treatments has evolved over a time and today there are very alternative cancer treatment methods all these geared towards providing a better cancer treatment to the patients. Cancer patients have always undergone pain and suffering that most conventional cancer treatments expose them to. This is not to say that the conventional cancer treatment methods are ineffective, no they are effective but are always accompanied by some life threatening side effects that doctors have done lots of research to mitigate. Some of the cancer therapies aim at sensitizing the immune system to act against the cancer causing agents. These treatments are good because they initiate or other ‘ignite’ the body’s natural healing ability thereby fighting cancer the natural without exposing the cancer patient myriads of life threatening side effects. Immunotherapy approach to cancer treatment has gained popularity and is now widely used all over the world in cancer treatment. Here are some of the therapies that are used widely in the fight against cancer.

Dendritic Cell Therapy

The dendritic therapy works as a form of vaccine. The dendritic cells produce antigens that are able to sensitize the T cells to both new and recall antigens. The dendritic cells have been said to be most powerful antigen producing cells. The dendritic therapy works by triggering the antitumor activity of the immune system by generating the effector cells that work by attacking the tumors. This is an immunotherapy approach to cancer treatment.

Researchers have done lots of work on the effectiveness of the dendritic therapy in cancer treatment and the research findings have shown that dendritic cells can be injected into the body in the form of a vaccine and help in fighting cancer. If cancer is present in the body, inoculation with new dendritic cells notifies the immune system of the presence of cancer and which then begin vital immune function against the cancer. The dendritic cells help to mobilize the great power of the immune system to identify cancer and fight the cancer cells. These dendritic cells are cultured from the patient’s own white blood cells so they are referred to as autologous.

As always a known role of vaccination; it improves the specific immune function. When an antigen is introduced in the body, the antibodies and the entire immune system is triggered to fight the antigen. This however should be perfected by repeated exposure to the antigen. For this reason the dendritic therapy is done repeatedly to train the immune system to rise against the cancer causing antigens. Patients will be vaccinated with dendritic cells six times at monthly intervals at the beginning of the therapy after which they will be vaccinated once after every six months for duration of three years. These injections help to boost the potency of the vaccine. After the six month interval of injections the patient will begin receiving these injections yearly.

The immune system should be strong enough to spot the cancer cells as they begin to grow. This is because in every human being there are cancer cells that are produced every day. However exposure to carcinogens such as tobacco smoke, radiation, heavy metals, pesticides and food preservatives will make these cells malignant. When the immune system is strong then the cancer cells will be spotted and destroyed early before a person develops clinical cancer and this is the role played by the dendritic therapy as it sensitizes the immune system to rise against the cancer cells.

The dendritic cells improve the immune response to cancer as they move throughout the body scavenging for abnormal cells. They also help as they target cells that might become malignant as a result of virus infections and sensitizing the immune system to destroy them earlier.

Virotherapy

This is a form of cancer treatment that involves the use of biotechnology to convert the viruses into cancer fighting agents. The viruses are programmed by use of biotechnology to attack cancerous cells but the healthy cells are not interfered with/. Such viruses as herpes simplex virus and adenoviruses are used. These treatments target the cells and the DNA.

The idea of using viruses in cancer treatment began as early as 1950s when doctors that cancer patients who suffered a non-related viral infection, or who had been vaccinated recently, improved greatly. This improvement is attributed to the production of interferon and tumor necrosis factors in response to viral infection. Virotherapy targets only cancer cells and so the healthy cells are not affected.

Before being used in some hospitals the Virotherapy was tested on animal models for its effectiveness in fighting cancer. By 1956 some clinics had began using Virotherapy in treatment of cancer patients. However the adoption of this treatment as a main stream cancer treatment was delayed due to inadequate technology by that time.

PDT

In Photodynamic therapy or PDT special drugs called photosensitizing agents are used along with light to kill cancer cells. These drugs work only after getting activated by a special light. This treatment is often called the phototherapy or photochemotherapy.

DendriticThe treatment introduces the photosensitizing agents in the body. The photosensitizing agents can be put through veins into the blood stream or can just be put on the skin. Several minutes pass by for the drug to be absorbed by the cancer cells. A light is then applied on the affected area to induce a reaction between the drug and the oxygen which forms a chemical that destroys the cancer cells. It also works by destroying the blood vessels that supply the cancer cells with nutrients hence they are starved and killed.

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.

Dendritic Cell Therapy, Virotherapy and PDT As Used In Cancer Treatment

 

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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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