Some years ago, one young man came to see me for his cancer. He was prescribed some herbs which he did not take. He preferred to go for chemotherapy instead. Not too long after that his wife came to my house in the middle of the night and asked for help. She told me that after chemotherapy, her husband’s red blood counts dropped drastically. The doctor gave him an injection to boost up the blood counts. He suffered a blood clot in his thigh and had to undergo an emergency operation. She wanted me to help him with the herbs. But it was not to be, her husband died soon afterwards.

In the early days of my practice, I did not document patients who came to see me. So, I only have vague recollection of some outstanding cases. This was one outstanding case that I remember, involving a young professional. When he had cancer, I could see the agony and hopelessness in the face of his young wife.

This case would not have resurface and find itself in print if not for some articles I have just read in the net about erythropoiesis stimulating agents (ESAs). ESA is commonly used to treat anemia, i.e., a lower than normal number of red blood cells. Examples of such drugs are Procrit, Epogen and Aranesp. These are synthetic, genetically engineered version of a natural glycoprotein known as erythroprotein. The US-FDA had approved the use of ESAs to treat anemia in patients with chronic kidney failure and in patients with cancer after chemotherapy had lowered their blood counts. To patients in Malaysia, each injection cost a good tidy sum of money.

According to Alison Tonka, associate editor of the British Medical Journal (BMJ) “thousands of patients worldwide rely on synthetic ESAs to alleviate the anemia that accompanies chronic renal disease and chemotherapy for cancer.” Two news articles in the BMJ had these titles: “Safety of anemia drug erythopoitin is to be reviewed” and “FDA calls for warning on anaemia drugs amid reports of incentives to doctors.” The main message from these articles is that more patients treated with ESAs died from the treatment rather than live longer or are helped. That is to say, ESAs increase the risk of death. Studies also showed that at a dose higher than indicated ESAs could cause increased risk of blood clots, stroke and heart attack. In patients with head and neck cancer, higher doses of ESAs promoted tumour growth.

In November 2006, February and March 2007, the US-FDA put out safety alerts informing the public about this safety concerns. From the net, I learn the following:

1. ESAs can cause serious and life-threatening side effects.

2. A greater number of deaths occurred in patients treated with these blood-count-boosting injections than in patients who did not receive chemotherapy.

3. ESAs cause increased rate of tumour growth in patients who had radiation therapy for their head and neck cancers and chemotherapy for their metastatic breast cancer.

4. ESAs cause higher chance of death and increased number of blood clots, strokes, heart failure and heart attacks in patients with chronic kidney failure.

All users of this blood-count-boosting drugs need to be told that they are at increased risk of death as well as serious cardiovascular complications including stroke, heart attack, blood clots to the heart, lungs, brain and major blood vessels. Those with chronic kidney failure given ESAs may suffer from seizures and hypertensive encephalopathy, i.e., swelling of the brain caused by very high blood pressure.

I now know why this young man met his premature death after chemotherapy plus a shot of erythropoiesis stimulating agent (ESA) that the doctor gave him. Goethe, a German philosopher once wrote: “There is nothing more frightening than active ignorance.”

For more information about complementary cancer therapy visit: cacare.com cacare.com, NaturalHealingForYou.com NaturalHealingForYou.com, BookOnCancer.com BookOnCancer.com

Tags: breast cancer, chemotherapy, healing

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Many men with prostate cancer are treated with hormones that block the effects of testosterone, the primary male sex hormone. This is because many prostate cancers thrive on testosterone.

By depriving them of testosterone, the prostate cancer cells “starve” and die. This treatment is called androgen suppression therapy. Usually, it is men with aggressive prostate cancer and those with prostate cancers that cause the prostate gland to enlarge who benefit the most from androgen suppression therapy.

Nearly every treatment that has benefits also has risks. Physicians must always weigh the benefits and risks of a treatment. Of course, the potential of androgen suppression therapy to prolong the life of men with prostate cancer and even increase the likelihood of it being cured cannot be disregarded. Nonetheless, the side effects of androgen suppression therapy include the loss of sex drive, anemia, osteoporosis, weight gain, decreased muscle mass, increase in bad cholesterol (LDL) and decrease in good cholesterol (HDL).

The alteration of LDL and HDL by androgen suppression therapy can potentially increase the risk of coronary artery disease and heart attacks. Therefore, this possibility was analyzed from data pooled from three randomized studies performed in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand, respectively.

One thousand three hundred seventy two (1, 372) men who received androgen suppression therapy in addition to radiation therapy to the prostate gland were followed for at least five years. The researchers found that men over 65 who received androgen suppression therapy for six months had an earlier onset of heart attacks, perhaps by two and a half years.

Does this mean men should not be treated with androgen suppression therapy, especially in the group in whom the benefits of hormonal therapy outweigh the risks? It does not; instead, the implication is that men who will benefit from hormonal therapy to avoid dying from prostate cancer but who also have risk factors for coronary artery disease should be referred to a cardiologist.

Men can then be assessed for and even treated for heart disease before they begin hormonal therapy. They can then undergo androgen suppression therapy without adverse effects on their hearts.

Also, more good news is that new studies are being developed to determine the optimal duration of androgen suppression therapy. By making hormonal therapy intermittent, such as six months on androgen suppression therapy and six months off, men might achieve the same survival endpoint with less toxicity than continuous androgen suppression therapy.

Dr. Kornmehl is a board certified radiation oncologist at Passaic Beth Israel Regional Medical Center, Passaic, NJ and author of the critically acclaimed consumer health book, “The Best News About Radiation Therapy” (M. Evans, 2004). Her website is RTSupportDoc.com RTSupportDoc.com

Tags: cancer treatment, prostate cancer

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Amy (not real name) was 48 years old when she was diagnosed with Stage 3 colon (caecum) cancer in 2001. She underwent a hemicolectomy on 5 November 2001. The histopathology report indicated: “moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma of caecum involving pericolic fat. The pericolic (6/10) and apical nodes (2/2) are involved by metastatic tumour (Duke C 2. T3 N2 Mx). The resected margin are free.”

Her surgeon recommended chemotherapy but Amy declined. She opted for herbs instead. She came to CA Care in November 2001 and was started on herbs: Capsule A, GI (1) Tea, Lympho-Tea (stopped mid-2006) and C-tea. She has been taking these herbs “religiously” ever since.

It has been six years and Amy is doing fine. Over the years she had gone back to her surgeon for surveillance check up and there was nothing amiss.

I met up with Amy and her husband on 18 September 2006 and had a chat.

Question: You underwent an operation but did not go for chemotherapy, radiotherapy or take any doctor’s medication? You started to take herbs and are still doing so up to this day. Are you a healthy person – are you okay?

Amy: Yes, I am healthy. I think I am healthier now than I was before. This is because I don’t have any more gastric problem — unless of course when I over-eat or when I am hungry. Otherwise, I don’t have any gastric problem. I sleep better. Energy wise I am good. Before I was on the herbs, I would be sleepy by 9 to 10 p.m. Just one or two weeks after I started to take the herbs until this day, I am still not sleepy even if it is 12 mid-night. And remember, I wake up at 6 o’clock every morning. Even that, I feel fresh the whole day and I don’t feel sleepy or tired and am full of energy. I don’t need to sleep in the afternoon.

Q: After the surgery, were you asked to go for chemotherapy?

Husband: After the operation, the doctor was asking us to start chemotherapy as soon as possible. To the doctor, we must not delay this treatment.

A: The operation was done on 5 November. A week later, I had to go back to the hospital for a follow up examination. The doctor told me that I would need to go for 30 sessions of chemotherapy. One week would be 5 sessions. I would then have to take two or three weeks rest and then start the cycle again. The doctor was telling me that I must do this quickly if not the cancer can come back again. I was asked to fix a chemo-pot but I declined. After this, I decided to come to CA Care instead.

Q: After you decided to take herbs instead of undergoing chemotherapy, did you get any pressure from your doctors — that this might not be the right approach?

Husband: No. This was because we did not go back to the oncologist any more. If we were to go back to him, we might get such “pressure”. We started to take the herbs. She was not getting worse. Instead she was getting better. So, we shut our mind to all other external pressures or advice and kept our focus on the herbs and on what we have decided to do.

Q: How did you feel after talking to the oncologist?

A: I felt very depressed. I did not like the way he talked to me. It appeared like he wanted to do business — then he said, you must do this and do that. He was not kind like the other doctors. He was very insensitive. We were very unhappy and decided to come and see you instead.

Husband: After we saw the oncologist, we knew that we could not “click” with him. On the other hand, the surgeon was a very kind man. When we told him that we would not go for chemotherapy, he said: “Do what you believe in.” He was more supportive than the oncologist who was not friendly at all. We never went back to see the oncologist ever again.

A: In fact to this day, my surgeon is very supportive. When I went back for my routine check up, he still enquired if I was still taking the herbs. He also asked if I ate meat, and that I was still on vegetables, etc. I think my surgeon was very happy to see me well.

Husband: We were very fortunately to have a nice and kind surgeon.

Q: If you look back, would you do the same thing all over again with regards to your cancer treatment?

A: I am satisfied with what I have gone through and what I did. There were no regrets. I still remember what my husband told me: “Amy, if you do not want to go for chemotherapy and wanted to go on the herbs, you have to believe in what you are going to do. If you don’t believe that the herbs are going to work for you, then don’t take them. I want you to put in your heart and soul to do this”.

Q: Besides taking the herbs and following our diet recommendation, did you take any other herbs or supplements?

A: No supplements. I took fruit juices for the first few years. It was only later that I started to take fish oil and sometimes garlic pills. Apart from that I was and am entirely on your herbs.

Q: After taking the herbs, how long did you get to experience their effects?

A: When I first came to collect the herbs, I was told that I would pass out a lot of smelly stools. That would be the first sign of cleansing. It happened exactly like I was told when I started the herbs. I passed out a lot of dark stools. The smell was real awful. I felt exhausted after this cleansing. This process went on for about 5 to 6 days after I started to take the herbs. Then, things gradually went back to normal.

Q: After taking the herbs for a week, did you feel any better?

A: Of course. I felt better. I was not sleepy anymore. Energy wise I was better.

Q: Over this five years, did the herbs and CA Care made any impact on you?

A: Yes, of course. When we came to collect herbs, Khadijah and Johan always have a lot of good words and encouragement for me. Then, I also remember when I came here and I met you. You talked to me and gave encouraging advice. These words still stuck with me. You said: “It is not the herbs alone – it is also your will to live and wanting to get well. Besides, patients must keep to their good diet”. “Laska” was my favorite food. Because of your words, I dared not eat “laksa” for many years!

For more information on the CA Therapy: cacare.com cacare.com
BookOnCancer.com BookOnCancer.com and view our video clips on healing of colon cancer, cacarevideo.blogspot.com cacarevideo.blogspot.com

Tags: cancer treatment, chemotherapy, colon cancer, colorectal cancer, healing

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There are over 30 types of lymphoma that have so far been detected and they can be grouped according to a variety of criteria. One such criterion is how fast the cancer is growing and so lymphomas are generally classed as either slow growing or fast growing. Slow growing lymphomas can be very difficult to detect because they rarely exhibit symptoms while they are still in an early stage.

As their name suggests, slow growing lymphomas take a relatively long time to grow to a size that starts to affect the body. Initially slow growing lymphomas will confine themselves to one specific area of the body. This is normally a lymph gland or a site close to a lymph gland and because they stay confined they don’t affect any other organs or tissues. The only outward sign of early stage lymphoma is a painless swelling of the affected lymph glands however this swelling can easily be missed or ignored by the patient. Even if it is noticed it is often attributed to a simple infection and no more notice is taken of it until it starts to become uncomfortable.

It may be over a year before sections of the confined lymphoma start to break off and travel to secondary sites in the body. Lymphoma affects the lymphocyte cells of the immune system and as such it has the ability to travel through the lymphatic system and in the blood stream. When the lymphoma cells do start to migrate to other areas the immune system tries to eradicate them and it is at this stage that the first systemic symptoms are experienced by the patient. These symptoms might include fever, night sweats, abdominal distension, unexplained weight loss and occasionally anemia i.e. chronic fatigue, tiredness and pale skin, although the exact symptoms will depend on the area that the migrating cells invade.

Often it is at this stage that the patient first visits the doctor and a provisional diagnosis is made. A number of medical tests are required to confirm the diagnosis and these tests will not only provide information regarding the exact type of lymphoma that is present, they will also say whether the lymphoma is fast or slow growing and what stage it has reached.

Unfortunately, many cases of slow growing lymphoma have reached a late stage by the time they are detected and diagnosed. This means they have spread to numerous areas of the body and so are a lot more difficult to treat effectively. There will also be a lot more cancer cells then the body can easily cope with and they may have infiltrated areas that are incredibly hard to treat such as the liver and bone marrow. For this reason it is important to consult a doctor whenever swelling of the lymph glands is noticed or any of the other lymphoma symptoms mentioned above are experienced. It is highly likely that the swelling and symptoms are caused by a minor illness however it is well worth finding this out as early as possible.

For more information and resources on hodgkin’s and non-hodgkin’s lymphoma, other types, lymphomaresources.com/The-Subtle-Symptoms.html symptoms of lymphoma, treatment, lymphomaresources.com/The-Stages-of-Lymphoma.html the stages of lymphoma, medication, research, solutions and facts, visit Jeremy Parker’s comprehensive reference guide on lymphoma. Also get your free copy of the “Lymphoma Information Guide” report at LymphomaResources.com LymphomaResources.com

Tags: lymphoma

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