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Integrative Addiction Medicine

Recurrent breast cancers

January 19, 2018

Recurrent breast cancers causes: The remnants of cancer cells

Recurrent breast cancers

Recurrent breast cancers causes will becomes evident when cells that were part of the patient’s original breast cancer break away from the original tumor

Recurrent breast cancers causes will becomes evident when cells that were part of the patient’s original breast cancer break away from the original tumor and hide nearby in the breast or in another part of the body. By and by, these cells multiplies again. All the treatment procedures like chemotherapy, radiation or hormone therapy you underwent during the first breast cancer diagnosis was intended to kill all cancer cells that may have remained after surgery. However, sometimes these treatments aren’t able to kill all of the cancer cells leaving some remnants. This is because there are certain cancer cells which can remain dormant over the years without causing harm. These dormant cells can be triggered gets activated causing them to grow rapidly spreading to other parts of the body. Why this happens, is yet to be established scientifically.

Recurrent breast cancer causes: Risk factors

For breast cancer survivors, factors that increase the risk of a recurrence include:

Lymph node involvement. Finding cancer in nearby lymph nodes at the time of your original diagnosis increases your risk of the cancer coming back. Women with many affected lymph nodes have a higher risk.

Larger tumor size. Women with larger tumors have a greater risk of recurrent breast cancer.

Positive or close tumor margins. During breast cancer surgery, the surgeon removes the cancer along with a small portion of the normal tissue surrounding it. A pathologist then examines the edges of the tissue looking for cancer cells. When the borders are free of cancer from the examination result, then we have a negative margin. However, if there are some cancer cells, it is a positive margin. In this case the risk of breast cancer recurrence is increased.

Lack of radiation treatment following lumpectomy. Most female patients who choose lumpectomy for breast cancer undergo breast radiation therapy to reduce the risk of recurrence. Those who don’t undergo the radiation therapy have an increased risk of local breast cancer recurrence.

Younger age. Women below age 35 at the time of their original breast cancer diagnosis, face a higher risk of recurrent breast cancer.

Inflammatory breast cancer. Women with inflammatory breast cancer have a higher risk of local recurrence.

Cancer cells with certain characteristics. If the breast cancer wasn’t responsive to hormone therapy or treatments directed at the HER2 gene (triple negative breast cancer), you may have an increased risk of breast cancer recurrence.

Recurrent breast cancer causes: Prevention

Treatments that have been linked to a reduced risk of breast cancer recurrence include:

  • Targeted therapy. For women whose cancer makes extra HER2 protein, the drug trastuzumab (Herceptin) can decrease the chance of the cancer recurring.
  • Radiation therapy. Women who’ve had a breast-sparing operation to treat their breast cancer and those who had a large tumor or inflammatory breast cancer have a lower chance of the cancer recurring if they’re treated with radiation therapy.
  • Maintaining a healthy weight. Maintaining a healthy weight may help decrease the risk of recurrent breast cancer.
  • Hormone therapy. Women with hormone receptor positive breast cancer may reduce their risk of recurrent breast cancer by taking hormone therapy after their initial treatment.
  • Regular exercise may reduce your risk of breast cancer recurrence.
  • For women with breast cancer who have an increased risk of cancer recurrence, chemotherapy has been shown to decrease the chance that cancer will recur, and those who receive chemotherapy live longer.

Recurrent breast cancers causes: The remnants of cancer cells

 

 

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Stem Cell Therapy for Addiction Treatment

March 25, 2015

Adipose Derived Stem Cell Therapy for Integrative Addiction Treatment

Addiction treatmentAddiction was, is and will continue to be a problem in the society. Today addiction stands as one of the most complicated diseases of the human race. It is not very easy to heal from addiction and many factors contribute to this. One of the factors is that after a prolonged use of drugs a person’s neurotransmitters are damaged and therefore the communication between the nerves is altered. The nervous system is the most affected system of the body after a prolonged drug use with neurotransmitter such as dopamine, GABA and serotonin being the most affected neurotransmitters. After a long term use of certain drugs, the level of GABA will be depleted to a point where it will be at an all-time low. This will lead to myriad of complications as the nerve impulses will be unregulated. This will lead to such problems as anxiety, depression, cognitive impairment and seizures among other diseases. Without restoring the level of GABA to healthy limits, any attempt to treat an addict will be ineffective. Dopamine levels will also be low and this will lead to depression and anxiety which are major symptoms of addiction. The use of drugs of abuse affects the neurotransmitters adversely and therefore there is need to restore the health of the neurotransmitters in order to do away with the addicted brain. This can be achieved through integrative addiction treatment which involves using both orthodox ways of addiction treatment and recovery as well as other alternative addiction treatments that have been hailed for effectiveness. One of the alternative addiction treatments that have been targeted by many researchers is the use of adipose derived stem cell therapy.

Why adipose derived stem cell therapy?

By now you know that the stem cells possess a rare ability to differentiate into different cells and therefore are capable to be used in replacing worn tissues cells and part of organs that are damaged as a result of prolonged drug use.

The stem cells can be derived from the adipose tissues where they are available in large quantities. having been derived from the adipose tissues the stem cells can thereafter be supplemented into areas where they are mostly needed to help correct the damages caused by addiction. After a prolonged use of drugs the brain chemistry becomes altered and this causes imbalances between the excitatory neurotransmitters like the dopamine and the inhibitory neurotransmitters like the GABA. When this happens the addict will continue using the drug to normalize the situation by heightening the falling dopamine level as opposed to initial use of the drug to heighten the dopamine level in order to induce feelings of euphoria. This explains why some people who have used drugs for a long time are always at their ‘ lows’. With the stem cell therapy this defect can be corrected and the balance in the brain chemistry can be achieved.

The use of stem cell therapy in treating of illnesses is not new, it is has since become a vital component of regenerative medicine and its application in integrative addiction treatment should not raise eyebrows. As it is used in treatment of other diseases to create living and functional tissues, regenerate and repair tissue and organs in the body that are damaged due to age, disease and congenital defects it can be used in addicts to correct defects in the brain chemistry and restore the balance. Stem cells have the power to go to these damaged areas and regenerate new cells and tissues by performing a repair and a renewal process, restoring functionality.

Using adipose derived stem cell therapy for addiction

Current research has found Stem cell therapies to be effective in treating genetic diseases such as alcoholism and drug addiction at their source. Being the basic cells in the body that are charged with a responsibility of rebuilding and healing dysfunction and disorder. The stem cells can be used to create healthy cells in situations where genetic pre-dispositions cause destruction. This can be done by taking healthy stem cells and transplanting them into the infected area. Through this doctors can cause changes in brain and body chemical compositions that offer a key to healing problems such as alcoholism and drug addiction.

Addiction TreatmentThe healthy stem cells are capable of changing the chemical composition of our brains and how the brain works. When healthy stem cells are transplanted into the damaged brain area. In the case of drugs; the area of the brain that controls impulses and chemical reactions to substances they begin to rebuild that area without the previous cellular dysfunction. This means that brain functions that facilitate addiction will be done with.

As known the body cells die while some are born replacing the worn out cells. Typically due to mutation, mutated cells will give rise to malfunctioning cells just like they and this will affect the whole body leading to rise of diseases. Stem cells are the best remedy as they are new and have no mutations that therefore restore the affected areas to equilibrium and facilitating whole-body healing of the addict.

In conclusion, the health of neurotransmitters matters a lot and now that it is known that some drugs depletes these neurotransmitters there is need for treatment of addiction in a manner that restores the functions of the entire nervous system. This is why here at AWAREmed we are dedicated to finding the best solutions to addiction and dependence on substances. Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) is always in the mood of helping any patient to be addiction free. Call on her for help.

Adipose Derived Stem Cell Therapy for Integrative Addiction Treatment

 

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Medical Tourism And Treatment of Addiction

March 11, 2015

The Role of Medical Tourism in Treatment of Addiction

Basically medically tourism can be defined as the act of a person leaving his country to seek medical care in a different country or simply beyond the country’s borders. In the past medical tourism involved patients from third world countries traveling to developed countries in search of qualified medical doctors to treat their diseases. This meant that the patient had good money to spend in treatment in the country he was visiting for medical care. However today medical tourism has taken a new dimension with patients traveling from the developed countries to developing countries for affordable medical care. These patients are evading heavy financial crisis that they may plunge into if they opt to treat the diseases in their own countries where the cost of treatment is higher than in the countries they are visiting.

It is important to appreciate the fact that the patients who leave their countries to come and seek medical attention in developing countries are not destitute. In their countries they may form part of the middle class but they certainly have higher purchasing power than the citizens of the countries they visit for medical attention. They are therefore welcomed in these countries by the governments who view medical tourism as a chance to create more national income from it therefore it is greatly encouraged.

Medical Tourism

Medical tourism is a multimillion business that is known worldwide. However medical tourism if not well managed may result in some problems to the countries the medical tourist visit. Just like the common tourism you always know of, I mean that of adventure and leisure that has both positive and negative impacts on the countries the tourists visit the medical tourism is also a double edged sword. It therefore needs to be well managed for the benefits to be enjoyed. Apart from all the benefits that a country visited by a medical tourist will get, we need to look at the role of medical tourism in treatment of addiction.

Medical Tourism avails effective treatment for addiction

Medical tourism has far many benefits to an addict seeking help. To begin with we know that that the biggest hurdle to addicts in overcoming addiction is the presence of triggers that lie just outside the rehab walls. A change in the environment especially leaving a country to a different provides an addict with an opportunity to evade these triggers that may make him to fall back into drug use. These triggers may include the people they were drinking with or even some type of music that is usually played in bars and other places of leisure as people drink and use other drugs. When a person is receiving treatment in a different country, not only the location changes but also the culture which places learning and adventure at the top of the list while pulling the triggers out of the way of an addict.

The addict will also have access to some of the most unique addiction treatment practices across the world, treatments that have been used for centuries in treatment of addiction and have been proved to be very effective. Without the limits of the addicts country’s borders, a whole new world of variety of effective treatments open up for the addict to explore and choose from, of course with help from highly qualified doctors and healers. An example of a unique treatment of addiction that medical tourism avails for an addict is the Ayurvedic herbal Treatment;

Ayurvedic Herbal Treatments of addiction

Ayurvedic treatments are one of the oldest therapies in the world with its roots in India. It is based on the belief that health and wellness depend on a delicate balance between the mind, body, and spirit. The primary focus of Ayurvedic medicine is to promote good health, rather than fight disease. But treatments may be recommended for specific health problems. The best thing with ayurvedic treatment is that it is holistic. That is to say that it focuses more on the wellness of the patient other than on treating the patient of the symptoms of the disease. It focuses on uprooting the disease by maintaining the delicate balance of the mind, the body and the spiritual being of the patient.

Medical TourismOne of the greatest Ayurvedic theories is that everything in the universe be it living or not are not is connected. Good health is achieved when your mind, body, and spirit are in harmony with the universe. Even the slightest disruption of this harmony can lead to poor health and sickness. A person should therefore coexist with the universe. To begin with you need to appreciate the fact that anything that affects your physical, spiritual, or emotional well-being can cause you to be out of balance with the universe and therefore bring you lots of diseases. Ayurvedic treatment is also known as Ayurveda. Through medical tourism addicts from all over the world have been travelling to India for Ayurvedic herbal treatments. This can be credited to its effectiveness in treatment of addiction. Ayurvedic medicine works through these mediums to help an addict overcome addiction and offer complete healing.

Ayurvedic Diet– through ayurvedic diet, a patient will get lost nutrients restored; ayurvedic healers will tailor a diet aimed at recovery for every patient.

Meditation – this is a crucial part of Ayurveda. Meditation helps addicts in the path of self-discovery and also helps them deal with stress and depression better. It effectively addresses depression which is common in addicts as a withdrawal symptom.

Yoga– this involves a series of exercise and postures that will help in deep purification that is needed in getting drug debris out of the system of the patient. It only improves good health and restores the balance of energy in the body.

Achieving Balance– when a person has recovered from drug addiction, ayurvedic medicine will help him to achieve and maintain the physical, mental, and spiritual health balance.

Finally, addiction is a disease that should be approached integratively just in order to be won. Medical tourism avails an opportunity for an addict to find integrative medicine that may not be in their countries. Here at AWAREmed we are dedicated to offer the best treatment available to addicts. Contact Dr. Dalal Akoury (MD) for more help in any kind of addiction you may be wrestling with.

The Role of Medical Tourism in Treatment of Addiction

 

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