Tag Archives: Management of cancer

Herbal supplements and cancer

July 31, 2014

Herbal Supplementation As Used in Cancer therapy

Cancer is a disease that has depopulated the world greatly, needless to mention it has caused us pain as it has taken our loved ones to the cemetery earlier than we thought and we are also at risk of getting this disease. Cancer though dangerous as it sounds can be treated very effectively by an integrative doctor. The integrative doctors are better placed to treat cancer as they combine both conventional and naturopathic treatments to ensure that the patient gets the best treatment that is devoid of all the side effects that may threaten their lives. One of the integrative doctors that have seen many cancer patients get the best integrative treatment devoid of life threatening side effects is Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) who has empowered lots of cancer patients through her website and direct consultations. She has journeyed with the cancer patients to recovery and still advocates for integrative cancer treatment.

Herbal supplementation in cancer treatment is very vital as one of the most effective cancer treatments is the use of nature given herbs, vegetables and fruits. Vegetables, fruits and herbs are rich in nutrients that cancer patient needs to strengthen his immunity as well as help in fighting the disease. They are also full of antioxidants that are useful in fighting free radicals that are often by products of conventional treatments as chemotherapy and radiation therapy. In surgery these herbal supplements will help in healing the wounds and hasten the formation of tissues; a process critical in healing after surgery.

The conventional cancer treatments are not as effective as they ought to be when used without herbal supplementation. In fact they leave patients with lots of life threatening side effects. Chemotherapy is one of the most known cancer treatments that works in such a way that it kills the cancerous cells, however in the process of killing the cancer cells the healthy cell are also killed and the patient will suffer the consequences which includes loss of hair, nausea, loss of appetite and loss of weight among other dangers associated with chemotherapy. Dr. Dalal Akoury encourages cancer patients to consider using herbal supplements during and after chemotherapy. She opines that herbal supplementation may help in improving the effectiveness of chemotherapy as some of them have compounds that increase drug uptake by the cancerous cells hence making chemotherapy to be more strategic.

Using the herbal supplements after chemotherapy will also help the cancer patients to evade the life threatening side effects that chemotherapy is always known for making them popular among cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. She however advices that you need the directives of a qualified integrative cancer doctor to help you choose the best herbal supplements for you. This is because if herbal supplementation is done inappropriately, it may interfere with the chemotherapy treatment. The best thing to do is consult her so that she can recommend the best herbal supplements that are good for your cancer.

Seemingly, Dr. Dalal Akoury is not the only person who recommends herbal supplementation during cancer treatment. Colleen Doyle, the director of nutrition and physical activity for the American Cancer Society says that whatever you eat and the quantity you eat will have a long term impact in your fight for cancer. He advises that you should reduce the amount of sweets and unhealthy fats and increase the amounts of healthy foods that can help you in fighting cancer. Most foods we eat may not give us adequate nutrients as needed by our bodies to build stronger immune systems and to help in fighting cancer. Therefore it is appropriate to look for herbal supplements available in the market that may avail these needed mineral and vitamins that may help us in a bid to fight cancer.

FDA Approved

There are very many over the counter herbal supplements that can be used in cancer treatments, however the fact that they are herbal or other natural supplements does not automatically make them safe for use. In the past some researchers had linked certain compounds in the herbal supplements to cause negative interactions with the chemotherapy drugs and hence affecting the treatment. As I said, it is not wise to walk to a food store and buy over the counter herbal supplements and use it yourself without intervention of a qualified integrative cancer doctor. It may affect your treatment negatively. FDA tests and approves the herbal supplements and it is good to check for the FDA approved herbal supplements to be used for cancer treatments as they often check on the toxicity of the supplements before they are approved.

Dr. Dalal Akoury also warns that the herbal supplements should not be used solely for advance cancer treatment as that may not be logical. It calls for an integrative doctor to advice on the best way to go about herbal supplementation and no patient should combine any herbal supplement with conventional treatment without consultations from an integrative oncologist.

herbalTo learn more about cancer and stay cancer free, you need to find a reliable doctor who will not only avail reliable information about cancer but also whom you can call for consultations. Dr. Dalal Akoury has been availing very empowering information to cancer patients on this website. Information that has seen many cancer patients get the best treatment in their fight against cancer. You can check this website frequently for information about cancer plus you can call her for consultations as many others are doing.

Herbal Supplementation in Cancer therapy

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Angiogenesis and Metastasis

July 30, 2014

 The Role of Angiogenesis Inhibitors In Integrative Cancer Care
Cancer patients always have a fear that their cancer may become metastatic. If it becomes metastatic it becomes a problem to treat and may cause lots of damage to the healthy cells in the patient’s body. Metastastasis however cannot happen without angiogenesis. Therefore if the cancer doctors find a way of avoiding angiogenesis then it can be easier to avoid metastatic cancer. One of the known characteristics of cancerous cells is that they divide rapidly and their growth is uncontrolled, this is a major challenge as the danger increases with how well they are well spread in the body. The best way to control the spread of cancer is to control angiogenesis by the aid of angiogenesis inhibitors.

What is angiogenesis?

Angiogenesis is the formation of new blood vessels. This is a natural process that occurs majorly during 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 and is known as vascologeneis. However this process happens less often in adults 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.

For tumors to grow and metastasize, angiogenesis is a necessity without which the cancerous cells will become inactive and may even die. The network of newly formed blood vessels become very dangerous to the cancer patient as they enhance the growth of the cancerous cells, spreading to other parts of the body and inflicting pain. For this situation to be controlled there is need to cut the nutrient and oxygen supply to these cancerous cells.

Being that cancer cells depend on angiogenesis to grow and metastasize, cancer  therapies that target  angiogenesis can potentially help in treating cancer. Angiogenesis is necessary for growth and metastasis of all cancer cells irrespective of the type of cancer. Cancer treatments that target angiogenesis will definitely aid in treatment of all cancers. The basis of therapies that target angiogenesis is that if angiogenesis can be stopped then the cancerous cells will be killed as they will not access the necessary supplies hence will starve to death.

Copper and 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 also known to be necessary for angiogenesis. Without copper angiogenesis cannot take place. Copper therefore fuels cancer tumor growth and metastasis. Anti-angiogenic therapies 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. If given with food, it chelates food copper with food protein and prevents 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.

Researchers have tested the effects 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. Tetrathiomolybdate (TM) is targeted by many researchers who want to verify if it can be used as a cancer treatment. 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 little side effects. If cancer patients are given TM with food their copper balance become negative which does not support 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.

Typically the level of cancer 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

Researchers have also 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 said to curb 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. This is said by the scientists 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 expert in integrative cancer treatment and can avail you the best advice to help you cure or better yet prevent cancer. You can always call her for consultations.

 The Role of Angiogenesis Inhibitors In Integrative Cancer Care

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Stress Relief and Cancer

July 29, 2014

Stress Relief Is Essential in Cancer Care
StressCancer is a disease that has caused much pain and has made us victims in one way or the other. The moment a person receives a news that he has cancer, fear become his uninvited companion as no one is ever sure of surviving the disease even with availability of many alternative cancer treatments in the hospitals. Researchers have done lots of work to ease this feeling but history knows that very many people have lost their lives to the disease. Some of the people who lost their lives did not die because of the disease itself but because the treatment was not holistic enough to suppress all the tension that the patient had. Cancer treatment is not just about injecting the patient with drugs that are aimed at killing the cancer cells. This approach of cancer treatment may not succeed because a cancer patient goes through lots of psychological trauma that needs to be addressed as well during the treatment and this is the reason why having an integrative cancer doctor attend to your cancer patient can be very beneficial as they focus on the whole person healing that is the body, the spirit and the mind. Stress is a culprit in cancer treatment and so needs to be addressed well for the cancer treatment to be effective. The patient needs to obtain a peace of mind for the drugs to have effect on the patient. Stress has been mentioned by many researchers as a factor that may make cancer treatment even more complicated.

Stress causes cancer

Many medical research findings have linked stress to cancer. Researchers have found that a gene ATF3 is a crucial link between cancer and stress. The gene is activated during stressful conditions in all types of cells, in normal conditions the gene can protect the body since incase of dangerous stressors; the normal cells can commit suicide to avoid the spread of the poison to other cells.

The researchers however proved that the cancerous cells will coax the immune system that have been put in place closer to the tumors to influence the expression of the ATF3 gene hence makes the ATF3 to inhibit the activity of immune cells making them to act erratically and allow the cancer cells to spread from the tumor to other parts of the body. In that manner stress is linked to metastasis.

It is highly recommended for a cancer patient to engage in practices that helps in reducing the stress levels in the body which in a broader way will help in reducing your risk of getting cancer. The patient ought to be well taken care of by avoiding all stressful conditions.

Stress relief is not only important to those who are already sick of cancer, stress relief is necessary for those who are not sick as well. This is because stress may make a person to involve in unhealthy behaviors like smoking, drinking alcohol and having multiple sexual partners all in a bit to find relief. Smoking tobacco is a major cause of lung cancer while having multiple sexual partners is known to cause cervical cancer.

How to relieve stress in a cancer patient

To relieve stress we need something that may distract the patient from his streams of hopeless thoughts. There are a number of activities that may help a patient be relieved of stress but still the person’s attitude towards the activity will matter so it is important to incorporate the patient’s likes and feelings in every strategy towards stress relief.

Reflexology

Reflexology involves the practice of massaging or applying pressure to various acupressure points on the body with the goal of reducing stress and supporting overall health. This however needs to be done by a qualified integrative cancer doctor in order to reap the desired benefits.

Sound therapy CD

Sound therapy is effective in stress relief in cancer patients. It involves the patient listening to the vibrations from the harmonics overtones of the 5th interval and the 7h cord which is made up of two 5th intervals. The vibrations are said to promote healing in the parts of brains that are responsible for endorphin release by causing a pathetic resonance to these parts. Endorphins are brain chemicals that transmit signals from one neuron to the other and help in reducing stress and enhancing the immune system.

Ballroom dance

Exercise is a great way that helps in stress reduction not only to cancer patient but also to people who dot have cancer cells in them. However for a cancer patient, he may not be having strength enough for a gym workout needless to mention the exercise they need to do is one that is fun like ballroom dancing which increases the blood circulation and reduces muscle tension. It also activates hormonal activities which is key in cancer treatment.

Valid company

StressStress can be worse if the patient is kept in isolation where he does not meet his family and share his moments with them. This explains why patients undergoing home treatment may recover within a short time. Keeping the cancer patients accompanied at all times reduces their stress as they know they have people they can count on.

You need to learn on ways to prevent the disease. You need reliable information to help you do this. Contact Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) for more information on health matters and be empowered to take good care of your life. Check her website for more information. As always she is readily available for consultations.

Stress Relief Is Essential in Cancer Care

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Personalized Cancer Treatment

July 29, 2014

 

An Integrative Personalized Cancer Treatment

Cancer is a multi-faceted disease that needs to be treated in a multi-dimensional approach. The times are gone when all cancer patients went for conventional cancer treatment methods like chemotherapy just to be treated with one drug. This is not a good approach and will not help any cancer patient. This is because cancer is fuelled by different agents. We all have different gene composition and our bodies react to drugs differently. The new era of cancer treatments involves personalized treatment; where an individual’s condition, genetic composition, the patient’s preference as well as the doctors experience count in the type of treatment the patient receives. Personalized treatments are working much better than the orthodox cancer treatment methods. This is because before a drug is administered to a patient, it is tested and its ability to treat the disease is analyzed in the labs before introducing it into the body of the patient. Tests such as chemosensitivity test, Biofocus tests and the greet test have been used to test and verify drugs and treatment options that can work best with the patient.

Integrative cancer treatment approach is a better approach than tying a cancer patient to one way treatment methods that may not yield any fruit. In fact that would be an insult to the researchers who have worked all the years just to bring us different alternative cancer treatments in a bid to make cancer treatment less stressful and to reduce the severity of the side effects that conventional cancer treatment methods like chemotherapy and radiation therapy are associated with. Integrated cancer treatment approach also heals the patient wholly and does not just aim at killing the cancerous cells.

Integrative cancer treatment can also be personalized for better effects on the patient. The integrative oncologist has got experience in handling cancer patients needless to repeat he combines the conventional cancer treatment with other alternative cancer treatments to get the best cure for a cancer patient. He understands that patients react to treatments differently and will do the necessary tests that will aid him in giving the right treatment to the patient. Being at liberty to combine best treatments both conventional and naturopathic, the doctor will craft a treatment that best suits the situation. He has numerous options to choose from here are some of the options.

The dietary approach

There are very many diet plans that are considered to work well in certain situations and with given type of cancers. After the doctor has done some tastes and has known what deficiencies needs to be addressed, he will decide on the best diet to recommend to the patient so as to help in treating the patient. Here is an example of diet treatment approach.

The Gerson’s therapy- This is a natural approach to treatment of cancer. The therapy is based on organic diet that is mainly composed of vegetables and vegetable juices. The diet helps the body to recover by activating the body’s natural healing abilities. Gerson’s program also features coffee enemas plus other natural supplements that are geared towards helping the body to heal itself. It also helps in boosting immune system and is helpful in fighting cancer. The Gerson’s therapy does not only treat the symptoms of the disease but removes all the toxic substances entirely from the body. It cures directly from the cell level and that means that it uproots the disease causing agents from their roots destroying them completely.

The doctor will assess the viability of the Gerson’s therapy in treating the patient before implementing it. In some cases the dietary approach may be used alongside chemotherapy to enhance drug uptake by the cancer cells and to reduce the side effects.

Advanced diagnostic approach

Advanced diagnostic involves a thorough and reliable diagnosis. Through these tests the doctor will be able to personalize the treatment. The advanced diagnostic will use the following tests to verify which treatment option best suits the condition. A review of health history, Physical examination, Laboratory tests, Genetic tests and bone scans. The tests will help the doctor to locate the tumors and also to know the stage of the disease therefore will help him in deciding on the best treatment combinations to treat the patient. This method also allows the doctor to monitor how the drugs are working on the tumor as well as the response of the cells to the treatment, at this point the doctor will decide whether to continue with the routine or try some treatment option. The possibility of any severe side effect is also considered.

        Target cancer therapies

The integrative doctor may decide to use drugs that are designed to interfere with specific molecules necessary for tumor growth and metastasis. The aim of target therapies is to fight cancer more strategically with few side effects. Again before the doctor decides to use the target therapies he must do a lab test to verify that it can work well for the patient.

The target therapy is aimed at killing the cancer cells without harming the healthy body cells. It can also be used alongside chemotherapy. Your doctor will decide which the best for your condition is.

With personalized cancer treatment the patients and doctors are relieved on repeat treatment especially haphazard chemotherapy that may not yield any benefits. Through personalized treatment the cure for the cancer is known before the chemotherapy drugs are injected into the patient making this treatment more preferable. Dr. Dalal Akoury runs a website that equips people with relevant information about cancer. Check on her website regularly to benefit from her wealth of health knowledge.

An Integrative Personalized Cancer Treatment

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Funding Cancer Treatment

July 28, 2014

How to Fund Your Cancer Treatment without a Loan
cancerCancer is not only a dangerous disease but it is also one of the most expensive diseases to treat. Cancer patients in most cases have to rely on insurance that in most cases do not support alternative cancer treatments; even the most effective alternative cancer treatments are not supported by these insurance covers. These insurance covers are often approved by state officials who in most cases are corrupt to the use of this money in other treatments that will not benefit them. Needless to mention some of the insurance covers that cancer patients have do not settle the entire treatment cost but just settles a percentage of the entire cost leaving the cancer  patient with another burden of looking for other financial sources to complete the treatment.

The financial crisis is something cancer patients are familiar with, patients face financial problems at different times in the course of the treatment. Some will need to look for the funds even before beginning the treatment, some will be broke in the middle of the training while some will lack money to take them through the remission period. Conventional cancer treatment methods are even the most expensive and an assumption that the United States has enough resources that can enable the citizens to treat cancer without financial problem is a lie. Americans just like any other cancer patient in the third world country feels the pinch when it comes to cancer treatment.

Financial crisis has caused many cancer patients to lose their lives as they were not able to complete the treatment. This is a problem that is still with us as the medical insurance is not helping the cancer patients in paying for the treatment and so the patients are forced to seek loans to help them pay for their treatment and this causes stress which is not good for cancer. This stress may affect the treatment.

However there is a financial product which can help the cancer patients to afford their treatment without taking a loan. In fact it allows the patient to access alternative cancer treatment that the insurance policy could not cover. This financial product was put in place to those people who were terminally ill not only from cancer but also other seriously expensive diseases to treat. Initially, this financial product was designed to help these people to enjoy there last days with a peace of mind. It was to allow them to quit their full time jobs and concentrate on other facets of their lives like having good time for the family, travelling and doing all other things that they could not afford to do before they die. However, this product can now be used by cancer patients to help them settle treatment bills.

Presents a better option to cancer patients.

In this option the patient’s whole life policy or term life policy or Group policy or FEGLI policy or Universal life policy and other types of life insurance policies that can be converted into whole life are sold to corporations with the highest bid. The corporations may buy the policy at a percentage of the whole life value at that time.

This allows the patient to obtain a given percentage of his whole life insurance policy in cash. He can then use this money to seek other alternative cancer treatments that are more effective than the conventional cancer treatments that the insurance could have paid for. Most people use this money for home treatment as they get quality time with their loved ones.

The patient will not have to sell all of his life insurance policies, he will only sell those policies that will give him enough money to spend on travel and treatment expenses. This money can help those patients who may have tried the conventional cancer treatments but did not succeed. It will help them settle bills for alternative cancer treatments. This money also give them a peace of mind, reduces their stress levels which is good for cancer recovery.

How to get the money

For the patient to benefit from this money, firstly his family will look for a broker who will be able to link them with the companies that buy the insurance policy. After the broker is contacted, he will look for the companies that can buy the insurance policy at the best price. He will let the family know of which company is ready to buy the policy at the highest price. The family will analyze the offer of the company, they are free to accept or decline the offer.

This money is very helpful as it allows the patient to heal faster. Most people do not always die from the effects of the disease but rather from the stress that is induced by the fact that they lack enough money to cater for their treatment.

CancerAfter the family has obtained this money, the best thing to do is to seek an integrative cancer doctor who will be able to handle the patient well by incorporating all the treatment methods that can work better for the patient. This money is a valid alternative source of fund for cancer treatment especially for patients who could not afford it otherwise.

You need to learn on ways to prevent the disease. You need reliable information to help you do this. Contact Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) for more information on health matters and be empowered to take good care of your life. Check her website for more information

How to Fund Your Cancer Treatment without a Loan

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