|
|
|
4 Steps for You to Help Yourself During Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is a word that causes dread in most who hear it. It
is a time of stress as well as risk. If you, or someone you
know, are facing chemotherapy, these four simple steps may help
get through the process with better spirits and better...
Finding The Right Exercise Intensity
We’ve all heard the exercise guidelines that recommend we participate in 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity 3-5 times per week. That seems easy enough to implement. Or, does it? The duration and frequency guidelines are very...
Healing teas are strong medicine
(NC)—The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that over 80% of the world's population satisfy their primary health care needs with traditional herbal medicines. These medicinal plant preparations, passed on and proven through generations of...
Heel Fissures
Heel fissures are a common problem seen in foot care. Heel fissures are seen in the winter months when the air is dry. Also, heel fissures are more common in folks that are moderately to severely obese.
Heel fissures seem to form at the junction...
The anti oxidant properties of Milk Thistle
There are many supplements out there today that offer great anti oxidant effects along with many more benefits. Milk thistle is one of these supplements and has quite a lot to offer.
Milk thistle has been used for thousands of years. The origins...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chemotherapy Drugs: Little known side effect YOU need to know about!
In January, 2005 it was reported that cancer has surpassed heart disease – for the first time – as the top killer of Americans younger than 85. In 2002, the most recent year for which information is available, 476,009 Americans younger than 85 died of cancer, compared with 450,637 who died of heart disease. An estimated 1,372,910 new cancer cases and 570,260 cancer deaths are expected this year.
Paclitaxel, a preferred treatment for lung and breast cancers, has a cancer-promoting risk as well….
Lung cancer remains the biggest cancer killer, projected to claim 163,510 lives this year. Paclitaxel will be used in the attempt to save the lives of many of these patients. However, one little-known effect of Paclitaxel is that in a subset of these patients there will be up to a fivefold increase in the production of Interleukin – 8 (IL-8) – a cellular communication molecule that initiates the growth of new blood vessels to feed the growing cancer. In other words, if you fall into this subset of patients, treatment using Paclitaxel alone may not be effective at preventing recurrence.
NF-kB blockade enhances cancer killing ability of Paclitaxel!
IL-8 is under the control of an inflammatory regulating protein called nuclear factor-kappa Beta (NF-kB). When the activation of NF-kB is blocked, IL-8 dries up, much like a faucet that has been turned off. Thus, blocking NF-kB activation enhances the cancer killing ability of Paclitaxel. These results were seen with many types of cancer cells, including lung and esophageal cancer cells.
Paclitaxel is NOT the Only Drug that Promotes Excessive NF-kB
Paclitaxel is but one of a group of drugs that has this unwanted side-effect of activating NF-kB. Other drugs in this group include Doxorubicin, 5-Fluorouracil, Cisplatin, VP-16 (Etoposide), ARA-C, and Methotrexate. In addition, research demonstrates that excessive NF-kB activity contributes to cancer development in the following types of cancers: non-small cell lung cancer, pancreatic, primary liver, head and neck cancer, prostate, breast, esophageal, stomach, colon, Hodgkin’s disease, and multiple myeloma.
Supportive treatment that improves chemotherapy effectiveness…..
Paclitaxel, along with the other NF-kB activating chemotherapeutic drugs, is approved for the treatment of a wide range of cancers. It appears likely that they will continue to be used for the foreseeable future. If you are on (or considering using) Paclitaxel or one of the other drugs in this group to treat cancer, there is a supportive treatment that you need to know about that improves the effectiveness of these drugs and reduces your risk of having a cancer recurrence.
We have a Multi-Dimensional Approach to Reducing Inflammation that Complements and Enhances the Impact of these Drugs!
At the Center for Learning about Healing in Ann Arbor, MI where I practice integrative medicine and behavioral oncology, I focus on multi-dimensional ways to empower patients to evaluate and change patterns of eating, behaving, thinking, and coping that are known to contribute to inflammatory reactions in the body. These methods complement the cancer killing effects of Paclitaxel, Doxorubicin, 5-FU, and other such drugs.
Genomic Testing Can Clarify Your Specific Inflammatory Molecular Mechanisms that Sustain Your Cancer
Inflammation is present before, and during the life of a cancer. In cancer, inflammation is a pathological process characterized by injury or destruction of tissues caused by a variety of cellular and chemical reactions. It is usually manifested by typical signs of pain, heat, redness, swelling, and loss of function. However, inflammation is also essential for tissue
repair and tissue rebuilding. Genomic testing (easily performed with saliva or blood samples) allows us to create a personalized map of your inflammatory tendencies based on your genomic predispositions. This method is revolutionary because it allows you to regulate your genomic capabilities to your advantage, which then allows you to reduce the expression of your inflammation-related genes.
What Cancer Patients Need to DO is
Reduce the Expression of Inflammation-Related Genes
Once you know your specific genomic blueprint for excessive inflammation, we work together to develop the tools you need to re-set the expression of your inflammation blueprint. These tools must be unique to you, precisely because your genomic expression capabilities are unique to you. These tools include anti-inflammatory diets supported by oral and intravenous nutrients that block and down-regulate NF-kB. Remember, it is this protein that is responsible for the abnormal rise in IL-8 during Paclitaxel administration. By measuring markers of cellular inflammation before, during, and after chemotherapy treatment, and using your unique tools, we compile a personalized treatment record of inflammatory responses (normal and abnormal) that serves as a benchmark for your risk of cancer recurrence after chemotherapy treatment.
With these personalized guidelines, you will have insider knowledge about choices of foods, behaviors, and interpersonal relationships that will be conducive to keeping your inflammation-related genes quiet. Patients with high inflammatory markers during chemotherapy are at higher risk for recurrence, and thus need to more closely monitor and modulate their NF-kB expression after the chemotherapy ends.
What is important to understand is that:
- There is an optimal amount of expression of NF-kB consistent with health;
- Excessive expression contributes to diseases like cancer recurrence, especially when NF-kB is turned on continuously; and
- You will have the power and the tools needed to regulate NF-kB’s expression.
Become the Captain of Your Healing Team!
As your physician-coach, I recommend that you become the captain of your healing team, and let me and my team partner with you to clarify the specific molecular mechanisms driving your specific cancer. We coach you to learn the skills and to master the tools needed to reduce the collective contribution of foods, emotions, and behaviors to the excessive expression of inflammation-related genes. By working together, you learn to modulate your inflammation blueprint by modulating the expressive capacity of NF-kB. Modulating your expression of NF-kB is the inner game of self-discovery, consciousness expansion, forgiveness, and cell (self) renewal that is what allows healing to occur. (To view diagrams describing NF-kB in health and in disease, visit our website at http://www.arond-thomasonline.com!)
Learn More about How You Can Improve Your Chances of Not Having a Cancer Recurrence…
You or a loved one can learn more about how you can improve the effectiveness of your cancer treatments and improve your chances of not having a recurrence. at http://www.1CancerCoach.com.
About the Author
James Arond-Thomas, MD, is Director of The Center for Learning about Healing in Ann Arbor and West Bloomfield, MI. Dr. Arond-Thomas partners with people with cancers and other serious illnesses to construct a "whole person" roadmap leading to health and well-being. To find out more about Dr. James' ground-breaking research and clinical experience, email to DrJames@1CancerCoach.com, or call at 734-995-4999.
|
|
|
|
|
| National Library of Medicine - National Institutes of Health |
| Part of the National Institutes of Health, the National Library of Medicine offers access to health information for consumer, patient, and physicians ... |
| www.nlm.nih.gov |
|
| Health and Medical Information produced by doctors - MedicineNet.com |
| Doctor-produced health and medical information written for you to make informed decisions about your health concerns. |
| www.medicinenet.com |
|
| Medicine in the Yahoo! Directory |
| Collection of sites for health professionals, with sections on specific disciplines, organizations, continuing education, conferences, publications, ... |
| dir.yahoo.com |
|
| MedlinePlus Health Information from the National Library of Medicine |
| Health information from the National Library of Medicine. Easy access to Medline and Health topics, medical dictionaries, directories and publications. |
| medlineplus.gov |
|
| Medicine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| Medicine is a branch of health science and the sector of public life ... The practice of medicine combines both science as the evidence base and art in the ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
|
| Journal Home - Nature Medicine |
| Nature Medicine has a vacancy for a Locum Assistant Editor for six months. The position involves working in all aspects of the editorial process, ... |
| www.nature.com |
|
| The New England Journal of Medicine: Research & Review Articles on ... |
| The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) is a weekly general medical journal that publishes new medical research findings, review articles, and editorial ... |
| content.nejm.org |
|
| eMedicine Clinical Knowledge Base |
| eMedicine features up-to-date, searchable, peer-reviewed medical journals, online physician reference textbooks, and a full-text article database in 62 ... |
| www.emedicine.com |
|
| Open Directory - Health: Medicine |
| the entire directory, only in Health/Medicine. Top: Health: Medicine (11429). Description · Medical Specialties (4888); Surgery (2265) ... |
| dmoz.org |
|
| the www virtual library biosciences medicine |
| www.ohsu.edu/cliniweb/wwwvl/ - Similar pages |
|
|
| Medicine - home |
| Bimonthly journal covering the latest results in clinical investigation relevant to hospital and office practice. |
| www.md-journal.com |
|
| Institute of Medicine |
| The Institute of Medicine serves as adviser to the nation to improve health. |
| www.iom.edu |
|
| ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News |
| Medical Research News. Health news on everything from cancer to nutrition. Full-text, images, updated daily. |
| www.sciencedaily.com |
|
| Google Directory - Health > Medicine |
| Search only in Medicine Search the Web. Medicine. Health > Medicine, Go to Directory Home. Categories. Alternative Medicine (6308) Basic Sciences (66) ... |
| www.google.com |
|
| the world wide web virtual library biosciences medicine |
| www.mcb.harvard.edu/biopages/medicine.html - Similar pages |
|
|
| PLoS Medicine - A Peer-Reviewed Open-Access Journal |
| PLoS Medicine is a peer-reviewed, international, open-access journal published ... Every issue of PLoS Medicine contains a selection of readers' responses. ... |
| medicine.plosjournals.org |
|
| Medicine On-Line - Medicine Online -The International Medical Journal |
| Medicine Online - independent and peer reviewed journal published by Priory Medical Journals - priory.com. |
| www.priory.com |
|
| Entrez PubMed |
| PubMed is a service of the US National Library of Medicine that includes over 16 million citations from MEDLINE and other life science journals for ... |
| www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov |
|
| Stanford University School of Medicine |
| Home Page of the Stanford University School of Medicine. |
| med.stanford.edu |
|
| Medicine OnLine |
| Meds.com offers medical information and education on cancer (lung cancer, colon cancer, breast cancer, leukemia) and HIV / AIDS for patients, ... |
| www.meds.com |
|
|