When Cancer Strikes......
Treatment: 8 Key Factors to Discuss on Diagnosis
If almost half of all men and one third of all women will get cancer at some stage of their lives*, most usually as they grow older, it makes sense for us to spare a thought for what we would need to do if it happens to us. But most of us don’t prepare in any way at all. Our first reaction, understandably, is not to think about it and ignore the ominous odds we face. The next thought if pushed would be to trust in the medical system and hope that it will be able to cure us. And finally, to some degree maybe, to make some life style changes, usually token.
Cancer is an incredibly complex disease that can affect any part of your body and requires multi-modal treatment. As a cancer patient you need to know about many of these treatments to ensure the best chance of survival. Unfortunately that is easier said than done. There are new discoveries and new research about cancer treatment being published every day. New approaches appear far faster than ever they are evaluated and actually incorporated in clinical practice. In an ideal world, all these new treatments would be evaluated and integrated into comprehensive and updated programs for the various forms of cancer. Obvious, no? If we’ve spent US$300 billion already on the “War on Cancer”, this should be a snap. Alas, it just doesn’t happen. There is no one place where a cancer patient or even a doctor can go to find the optimum comprehensive scientific approach to achieve long term survival for cancer.
If you are diagnosed with cancer there are certain steps you need to take as quickly as possible. The first is to find an oncologist to work with who is open to incorporating the latest approaches, having satisfied him or herself that these means have either been shown to be effective or have a good chance of being so and will do no harm, bearing in mind the patient’s condition and the acceptability of risk. That I’m afraid is also a lot easier said than done. There is enormous pressure upon oncologists from many quarters to stick with existing methods. Cancer treatment can all to often be an assembly line, into which you can be cast as a mere recipient cog.
The second step is to work with the best integrative doctor you can find, who is genuinely capable of using every effective natural method available to help your body fight the cancer and sustain you against the ravages of so much cancer treatment.
Then there are 8 very practical measures** you need to take into account when discussing your treatment with your oncologist at the very outset. and don’t be shy about it or be fobbed off. I will deal with them briefly here.
1. EVALUATING MOLECULAR STRUCTURE OF THE TUMOUR CELL
Advanced molecular diagnostic profiling makes it possible to identify the properties of each patient’s cancer cell so as to design a tailored treatment program. For this an immunohistochemistry test is required. This not only suggests what treatment will work but also helps avoid expensive, ineffective and debilitating treatments. It also answers such pressing questions as: What type of cancer is it? Where did it originate? Where has it spread? Which treatments are most likely to work. Finding the answers to these questions quickly and accurately is vital. All too often these tests are not as comprehensive as they might be.
2. LIVE CELL ASSAY
In many cancers chemotherapy treatment will be prescribed, particularly when the disease is far advanced. If chemo is being advised it is important to know which drugs will be effective. It is even more important to find out if your cancer cells show what’s called extreme drug resistance (EDF), which means 95% of the drugs won’t work in killing cancer cells. Live cell assay (LCA) allows you to have a custom-tailored assay-directed program showing the optimal combination of chemo agents. Most oncologists work “by the odds”. That is to say statistically, in a one pattern fits all standardised drug regimen. While that approach is understandable, it is not necessarily always the right way for the individual cancer patient, who may have to insist on this test as arrangements have to be made to provide live cell tissue. Many oncologists and surgeons don’t want to be bothered and will resist doing such a test. They are apt to dismiss the LCA test as “unproven” science. It is not.
3. ANEMIA
Anemia is often ignored during the treatment of cancer. This is dangerous, particularly for the elderly. Anemia greatly lessens the chances of survival among cancer patients. The journal “Cancer” reported in 2001 that the presence of anemia increased mortality risk of cancer patients by 65%. Anemia is caused by insufficient red blood cells and the consequent lack of tissue oxygenation. The condition is frequently encouraged by chemotherapy, which suppresses red blood cells and the immune system. Cancer patients need to insist that they maintain blood levels of Hemoglobin and Hematocrit in the optimum levels. Normal ranges are just not good enough in the case of cancer. That means Hemoglobin for men of 15.5 - 17 g/dL (normal: 12.5 - 17 g/dL) and for women: 13.83 - 15 g/dL (normal: 11.5 - 15 g/dL); Hematocrit for men: 45 - 50% (normal: 36 - 50%) and for women: 41 - 44% (normal: 34 - 44%). If the cancer patient is not in these ranges, they should ask to be put on the drug Procrit, remembering also to maintain iron levels that can become depleted by this medication.
4. INHIBITING THE COX-2 ENZYME
Saturated and poly-unsaturated fats, plus all the other bad fats we eat, play a big role in the progression of cancer. As a result of these bad fats the body produces what are called the Cox-2 Enzyme, which when overproduced encourages malignancies by means of inflammation, cell proliferation and angiogenesis (veins created to support the tumor). Drugsknown as Cox-2 Inhibitors can prevent or reduce this happening. Originally Cox-2 Inhibitors, which are among the class of drugs known as anti-inflammatories or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs NSAIDs, were used to relieve pain. However they have increasingly been shown to be highly effective in fighting many forms of cancer and oncologists increasingly prescribe them.
5. SUPPRESSING THE Ras ONCOGENE
Ras proteins are vital to cell growth. Mutant Ras genes cause unregulated cell proliferation and are found in an estimated 30% to 40% of all cancers (pancreas 80%, colon 50%, lung 40%, liver 30%, melanoma and leukemia 30%). Statin drugs, popular for lowering cholesterol, have been shown to inhibit the activity of the Ras oncogene and lead to substantial increases in survival rates (e.g. Mevacor, Lipitor, Zocor, Pravachol). The nutrients, fish oil, garlic and green tea extract all act significantly to reduce activity of the Ras oncogene.
6. CORRECTING CO-AGULATION ABNORMALITIES
Coagulation disorders (thick or sticky blood) are common among cancer patients due to the cancer itself and chemotherapy. Anticoagulant therapy has been shown to increase survival rates and is used to prevent thromboembolism, reduce enzyme interactions, cellular growth and angiogenesis. It also breaks down fibrin in the blood, which encourages angiogenesis and metastasis. Cancer patients should therefore be sure to do the panel of tests for Hypercoagulability and ask to be prescribed low-molecular weight heparin or Coumadin if test results are positive.
7. MAINTAINING BONE INTEGRITY
Certain cancers (particularly breast and prostate) have a tendency to metastasize to the bone. They can also lead to severe osteoporosis later on. The way to reduce or prevent this and save lives is to use biphosphonate drugs either by IV (Aredia, Zometa) or orally (Fosamax, Actonel) and to do so pre-emptively. All too often biphosphonates are only prescribed after a DEXA or QCT scan shows serious bone loss and with bone loss comes increased risk of metastasis. That is too late, insist before that happens. Every cancer patient should also take a good bone-protecting supplement containing calcium, magnesium, boron, silica and Vitamin D.
8. INHIBITING ANGIOGENESIS
Angiogenesis is simply the growth of new blood vessels and is critical for good health. However, it is a balance which can be upset by angiogenic promoting factors, like estrogen among others, which lead to too much blood supply for tiny tumors, which can then grow into large lethal ones. A number of medications have been found to have dramatic antiangiogenic properties. The most encouraging of these are angiostatin and endostatin but their clinical use is still restricted by the FDA. In the case of non-treatable cancer it is worth joining clinical trials to access the combination of these. Also looking to see if they can be accessed in Europe or elsewhere. Other antiangiogens are the interferons and interleukin-2. Natural nutrients, green tea extract and curcumin are also potent natural antiangiogens.
If you, as a newly diagnosed cancer patient, want to really take an active part in ensuring your survival, consideration of some or all of the above steps should be made and discussed with your doctors at the outset.
Note* : American Cancer Society, (2005)
Note** : “Disease Prevention & Treatment Protocols” (4th Ed. 2004)
This is the 2nd in the series ”When Cancer Strikes”
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