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PATIENTS' |
NATIONAL |
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· By Recovered Patients |
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CANCER |
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· Not Governmental |
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INSTITUTE |
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· Cost Free, Non-Profit |
A Step-by-Step Guide to
Recovery for Cancer Freshmen by Cancer Graduates
www.PatientsNCI.org, July 7,
2006
C.
PATIENTS' PROTOCOL
TREATMENT INDEX AND INTRODUCTION
Featuring
INTEGRATIVE MEDCINE
Please scroll down below this
treatment index to read the INTRODUCTION.
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PHASE I. PREPARE THE PATIENT FOR MORE SUCCESSFUL CONVENTIONAL OR ALTERNATIVE THERAPY. Suppress the cancer, and fix the patient's natural cancer-killing immune system. We expect over 30% of patients may eliminate or shrink their cancer at this level of treatment. |
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PHASE II. NON-INVASIVE TREATMENTS TO ATTACK THE CANCER DIRECTLY, while continuing to build the patient's cancer killing immune system. Doctors experienced in INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE estimate about 80% of patients can eliminate or control their cancer at this level of treatment. |
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2. HEALTH WORK-UP AND TESTING to establish cancer baseline measurements and images. Also to uncover any other medical problems that might be inhibiting the immune system such as heavy metal toxicity, etc |
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PHASE III. INVASIVE TREATMENTS TO ATTACK THE CANCER. By adding these invasive conventional treatments, over 90% of patients could reasonably be expected to have a positive response. |
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Future web pages under development: |
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10. PATIENT NOW FORTIFIED FOR FULL CONVENTIONAL THERAPY |
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PHASE IV. RECOVERY. A healthier, happier, wiser YOU |
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11. PAIN RELIEF |
I.
INTRODUCTION
The PATIENTS' PROTOCOL is designed to
walk with each cancer patient step by step - from diagnosis, through that
initial panic, to treatment selection, to recovery, to staying well - by
sharing our own journeys along the same path. Please remember that we are
recovered patients - not doctors. We hope to save you from serious mistakes
many of us made and to bring you the best cancer therapies we found, including
INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE
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Several of the tips we will share have been shown in clinical studies to increase average survival time more than 100%, yet they are frequently overlooked if the patient doesn't ask for them. |
WELCOME
TO A WONDERFUL NEW ERA OF CANCER TREATMENT CALLED "INTEGRATIVE
MEDICINE"
This is big news for patients. Our
experiences, and scientific studies which we will also reference, show that
INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE is easier, healthier, safer, and much more effective. From
what we have seen, most cancer failures in the past were not due so much to the
aggressiveness of the cancer, but to the limited selection of treatments.
INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE is curing that problem.
For half a century, American doctors have
been limited to treating cancer with three 50-year old modalities - surgery,
radiation and chemotherapy (including hormones). This was known as Conventional
Therapy.
Meanwhile tens of thousands of American
patients who needed more to get well had to go to international hospitals to
get other treatments that saved them. These treatments were known in America as
Alternative Therapy.
Conventional Therapy specialized in destroying
the cancer by external means, and after 50 years it became very good at those
techniques. Alternative Therapy specialized in building up the body and the
immune system to destroy the cancer by internal means, and the body has usually
been very good at that. We believe it is a perfect combination, that can be
synergistically much more effective.
Now modern American doctors, 80% of
patients surveyed, and even Congress have insisted that the full range of
proven cancer treatments be made available in America. This combination of the
two schools is now becoming mainstream. It is called INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE.
Under INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE doctors can
start treating cancer more logically. In most diseases doctor's logically start
with the least invasive treatments first, and only escalate to more invasive
treatments if they are needed. Now cancer doctors can start with nutrition and
lifestyle to "freeze" the cancer in place (See our web page on how to
inhibit metastasis) while they try to make it recede with other non-invasive
treatments like immunotherapy. If needed, they can escalate to attacking the
cancer directly with certain minimally invasive treatments especially selected
to also permit strengthening the immune system. Finally they can reserve surgery,
chemotherapy and radiation for those patients who's immune system does not
respond sufficiently to eliminate the cancer.
This website explains how you can get the
substantial benefits of real INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE and not just the old therapy
disguised with pleasant niceties that have little to do with improving survival
time. INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE is relatively new to most doctors, so in the future,
this website will add a list of doctors already familiar with it. Patients or
their doctors will be able to consult with them if necessary. Also we currently
share the actual experiences of recovered patients who have pioneered
INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE here and abroad.
One of our founders cured cancer that was
diagnosed as terminal by using the combination of conventional and alternative
medicine over 20 years ago, but she had to go to an international hospital to
do it. We have been helping other cancer patients to find a way ever since.
Another of our founders recovered over 8
years ago using early INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE, finally becoming available right
here in America. We decided to celebrate that breakthrough in availability by
creating this website to share the good news with everyone. It is designed to
be a companion to the government's National Cancer Institute website by
covering key information on integrating the treatments that saved thousands of
us, but that they don't yet include. Also we cover quality of life tips on how
our doctors helped us avoid hair loss, pain, loss of energy and dignity, etc.
We hope our small efforts over these
20-some years have contributed to building the momentum that has made
INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE the new mainstream way to treat cancer.
You have read our HOME PAGE and you know that cancer cells are a natural
condition, similar to how we always have some germs in our body. We expect the
body to heal small sores by itself, and cancer cells are no exception - the
body usually cures them by itself, all life long. That's why most people don't
have tumors.
We now know that the number of cancer
cells in our body can be increased dramatically by smoking, poor diet, etc.
Even so, some scientists speculate that at least six of our many anti-cancer
armies have to be exhausted or ill for a cancer cell to survive in our body.
This is because our body usually fights cancer so successfully on so many
different levels.
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SOME OF YOUR BODY'S ANTI-CANCER DEFENSE SYSTEMS |
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DNA Repair Enzymes - cut and paste corrections to cancer cells |
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Antioxidants - prevent cancer-causing cellular damage |
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Liver enzymes - detoxify carcinogens |
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P53 Gene System - stops cancer cells from reproducing |
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Apoptosis - makes non-repairable cancer cells self-destruct |
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Tumor Suppressor Genes - induce death of cancer cells |
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B-Cells - make antibodies against certain cancer cells |
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Anti-Malignin Antibodies - kill cancer cells upon contact |
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Helper T-Cells - direct other cells to attack cancer |
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Cytotoxic T-Cells - poison cancer cells with their chemotherapy |
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Natural Killer Cells - bind, kill cancer cells |
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Tumor Necrosis Factor - chemotherapy made by many cells |
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Lymph Nodes - trap cancer cells for destruction |
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Macrophages - devour cancer cells |
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Neutrophils - digest dead tumors |
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Anti-neoplastons - five newly recognized anti-cancer peptides |
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Fruits and Vegetables - Your body's daily chemotherapy, including literally thousands of phytonutrients shown to strengthen and activate all of the above anti-cancer defenses, stimulate anti-cancer genes, inhibit cancer-promoting genes, inhibit blood supply to tumors, protect cells with antioxidants, inhibit cancer enzymes, balance hormones with phytoestrogens, detoxify carcinogens, repair cancer cells, attack cancer cells directly, etc, etc. |
If a cancer cell evades these armies for 5
to 20 years, it can finally grow big enough for doctors to see. Most cancers
are slow growing initially, unless they are disturbed by invasive medical
procedures. (Please see PROTOCOL STEP 2 on testing and biopsies to reduce this
risk.) Most cancers are not immediately life threatening. Still, when
the cancer has persisted this long, it indicates that the patient's anti-cancer
armies probably need some outside help, sooner rather than later. There are
basically three approaches to treatment: the anti-cancer armies can be
strengthened, or the size of the cancer burden can be reduced, or both.
Cancer
treatments can be viewed as temporary first aid for the current cancer. The
lasting cure may be to select a diet and a lifestyle that keeps all these
anti-cancer defenses strong, and reduces the daily burden of carcinogens to a
safe level.
Cancer is a big, billion-dollar business,
with room for many wrong turns. The PATIENTS' PROTOCOL is a report to cancer
freshmen from cancer graduates who have been there. It identifies the good
conventional treatments that helped thousands of us to recover, and the bad
conventional treatments that made things worse. We also do the same for
alternative and international treatments. These treatments have now come
together as the new mainstream cancer therapy called INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE.
After 20 years of experience helping one another get well, we hope to save
other patients from re-inventing the wheel.
The PATIENTS' PROTOCOL can be used:
The treatments have been selected by
recovered patients themselves. Although we have been through the experience,
most of us do NOT have professional medical training, so we do not try to make
specific treatment recommendations. To be featured here, the treatments cited
had to help us get well, ALSO had to be recommended by licensed American or
international medical doctors and hospitals, AND they had to be supported by
published scientific literature. These treatments made us well, but there are
no guarantees.
Even if a magic pill were available
to eliminate tumors overnight, that might only be a temporary first aid. It may
be at least as important to restore all the body's natural anti-cancer armies.
Then they can provide long-range protection against future cancer cells, which
may develop daily. The PROTOCOL is aimed both at eliminating the current cancer
and at restoring these anti-cancer armies for future protection.
BEST
CASE SCENARIO FOR ALTERNATIVE
THERAPY
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Month 1 and Month 2 |
Month 3 |
Month 4 |
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Strengthens the body's attack on
cancer* Suppresses growth of cancer |
Reduces cancer |
Eliminates cancer |
*The immune system may increase
swelling and symptoms as it attacks more vigorously.
II.
OVERVIEW OF THE PATIENTS' PROTOCOL
IDEAL
RELATIONSHIP WHEN COMBINING THERAPIES UNDER INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE
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Phase I. Alternative therapy strengthens patient and immune system. May reduce or eliminate easy cancers. |
Phase II. More Alternative Therapy to attack cancer directly while continuing to strengthen immunity. |
Phase III. Some cancers may need mini- or full conventional therapy, even if it damages immunity. |
Phase IV. Alternative therapy cleans up cancer crumbs, restores immunity. |
The PATIENTS' PROTOCOL, as you might
expect, emphasizes promoting patient health. The PROTOCOL treats the patient
along with the disease. It is a different paradigm from isolated conventional
therapy that only attacks the cancer, sometimes to the detriment of the
patient's health. Long ago patient health was considered the essence of
conventional medicine, but somehow that often became labeled alternative
therapy. Whether it is called conventional or alternative, improving health
also restores our own anti-cancer armies to attack the tumor in deeper and more
selective ways, cell-by-cell. INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE includes both schools of
treatment.
Invasive treatments are added
incrementally as more help is needed. Naturally, the more chemotherapy and
radiation given to patients, the harder it can be for them to heal. The patient
and doctor should agree in advance to avoid the point where too much radiation
or chemotherapy can ruin a patient's chances to recover by any treatment.
On this website the list of successful
treatments is grouped by similar function into logical categories which we call
STEPS of the PATIENTS' PROTOCOL. The selection and intensity of different
treatments used within each logical step depends on each patient's
requirements. The specific treatments and intensity within each step/category
are often determined individually by scientific testing.
The steps are divided into 3 Phases. Phase
I steps are to freeze cancer growth while strengthening the patient and
restoring the body's natural ability to kill and heal cancer. Phase II is to
launch a direct attack on the cancer using treatments that allow the patient's
anti-cancer defenses to continue to improve. Phase III uses invasive
conventional treatments, even though they may weaken the patient's defenses.
This is for the most difficult cases.
For ease of explanation and description,
the PROTOCOL starts with the Phase I least invasive steps and proceeds to Phase
II if needed. But the steps can be used in any sequence. In cases where the cancer
is within days of being life-threatening, it may be necessary to start with the
Phase III most invasive steps immediately. But this is rare. Get a second
opinion right away if a doctor tells you that.
Cancer hospitals that are experienced in
combining alternative and conventional therapy usually START WITH MOST OF THE
PHASE I AND PHASE II STEPS SIMULTANEOUSLY, as soon as baseline testing permits.
Then they add the Phase III more invasive treatments later, if needed.
For patients who have completed successful
therapy, a simplified PROTOCOL can be used to stay well and enjoy a new life
that is healthier, happier and wiser.
PHASE I
FOR BOTH CONVENTIONAL AND ALTERNATIVE
CANCER THERAPY
Suppress the cancer and strengthen the
patient's natural cancer-killing systems.
The first 7 STEPS are highlighted because they were so frequently used
by the most successful patients. Just like baking a cake or fixing a car,
patients who implemented all of the first 7 STEPS seemed to do much better than
patients who left some STEPS out.
Few hospitals or doctors were expert in
all 7 steps, so we usually had to take the initiative ourselves to insist on
obtaining any treatments that were missing or inadequate, from some other
source.
Patients tend to fall into two groups:
those who want to do as much as possible to get well, and those who want to do
as little as possible to get well. You know the prognosis for each group.
During treatment there were milestones
that served as rules of thumb to distinguish those patient most likely to
reverse their cancer, with the least need for invasive treatments. Note that
all recovered patients did not always have to reach all of them. Key milestones
included:
1. Successful
elimination of drugs, especially tobacco and alcohol products. A single glass
of wine or beer per day can raise certain cancer risks as much as 20%. 1-2
drinks PER WEEK appear to be safe statistically, if not psychologically. No
amount of smoking appears to be safe for any cancer, since there are so many
cancer promoters involved, including nicotine itself. Tobacco and alcohol can
raise carcinogens and lower immune activity, accounting for some 35% of all
cancers in America. Sometimes doctors have to suspend prescription drugs that
may be carcinogenic or just interfering with the body's fight against cancer.
2. Successful
elimination of all animal foods, including seafood, poultry, livestock and
dairy. Animals accumulate toxins every day of their lives. They are the worst
dietary sources we know for carcinogens, hormones, pesticides, PCB's, dioxin,
tumor growth factors, antibiotics, "super bugs," heavy metals, etc,
etc. Toxic accumulation is compounded by the common practice of feeding them on
sewer sludge and feces! Even cooking certified organic meat can create fumes
that contain the same types of carcinogens that make tobacco smoke so lethal.
If you can smell it cooking, you may be at risk.
A study in the
American Journal of Epidemiology (Singh P., 148, 1998) found that a single
serving of poultry per week increased the risk of colon cancer 55%. No wonder
several studies show animal products account for at least 40 to 50% of all
cancers. Patients who did best replaced them with a plant-based diet emphasizing
fresh, organic vegetables. (Yes, vegetables contain protein!)
For
details on animal products, please see PROTOCOL STEP 3 on suppressing
metastasis.
With those two milestones, the main
external cancer burdens were lifted from the body. Now it could focus all
energies on the internal cancer that was left. The next two milestones seemed
to supercharge all the body's anti-cancer armies.
3. Drinking
freshly-made vegetable juices at the level of 4 to 16 cups per day, depending
upon the extent of the cancer and the quality of the juicer. Fresh vegetable
juices are nature's powerful chemotherapy, with side effects of more energy and
stronger immunity for the patient. (More details will be explained under
PROTOCOL STEP 4, Nutrition)
4. Raising
immune system activity until large mononuclear cells or T-cells are 30% above
the top of the normal range. (PROTOCOL STEP 7 will explain how.) These cells
seem to be indicative of the patient's cancer-killing armies, and at this high
level they are ferocious!
WARNINGS: Tumors
may swell up initially from the invading immune cells, and flu-like symptoms
may develop during such a vigorous attack. Though symptoms can be frightening,
this is the very best sign. It shows that the immune system is active and
strong and catching up on its job of destroying the cancer. Doctors warn
patients not to keep the immune system this high after the cancer is gone.
Patients with auto-immune problems must consult with their specialist before
undertaking immune therapy.
Make no mistake, it is a lot of work to
implement all these steps, and it takes a lot of strength and courage from a
sick cancer patient to achieve these personal milestones. A partner is very
important. Patients often had to maintain this high intensity for as long as 90
days, and sometimes longer. But it was worth it to be CANCER FREE!
"After
she reached the last milestone, her cancer lumps began to melt away. It was
such a joy to see
that
I felt like crying."
Phase I, STEP 1 of the Patients' Protocol explains how to build a
winning health care team while getting second opinions. Specifically this
includes asking how much time there is to consider options. Since the cancer
has usually been around 5 - 20 years, there is seldom any need to rush into
invasive treatments. But each case is different, and this must not become an
excuse to delay urgent treatment in that rare case.
This begins the successful patient's
education all about their cancer. We think this web site and our companion, the
government's National Cancer Institute web site are two of the best places to
start. Other selected sites are recommended on the ADDED FEATURES/Other Web
Site of Interest section, available from the home page.
In considering second opinions, we
preferred to give most weight to those hospitals and physicians who practice
both conventional and alternative cancer therapy. They have no special axe to
grind, and should be able to offer a more balanced opinion. Otherwise we
consulted at least one M.D. of each school. Be aware that a second opinion from
a colleague in the same organization may just be getting the same opinion a
second time. Seek a different perspective.
STEP 2, Testing, is to get a complete health work-up while
interviewing these doctors, and begin the necessary baseline and diagnostic
tests. This web page explains how we reduced the risks of biopsies and X-rays.
Besides monitoring the cancer, another objective of testing is to discover and
clear up any other medical problems that could be interfering with the body's
fight against cancer. Results of these tests often dictated specific
treatments, and their intensity.
STEP 3 explains how to suppress metastasis, a step that is
often overlooked. We didn't want to skip this opportunity to freeze the cancer
so we could relax a little bit and concentrate more on how to get well. Simple
steps like reducing calories temporarily and completely eliminating animal
protein and tobacco may begin to inhibit cancer growth overnight.
STEPS 4 - 7 of the PATIENTS' PROTOCOL make patients about as
healthy as they can stand. These steps include the two main powerhouses against
cancer - nutrition and lifestyle.
The Nutrition Step explains the wisdom of returning to some of our
original Garden of Eden/paleolithic dietary roots. A modern version, called a
Vegan diet, has been shown to help reverse cancer, heart disease, arthritis,
adult-onset diabetes, deprssion, obesity, etc, etc. It seems to be our ideal
fuel.
The Lifestyle Step rivals nutrition in importance according to most
recovered patients. The lifestyle web page will provide guidelines and
referrals covering exercise, sleep, meditation, improving attitude and facing
the expected waves of fear, anger and depression positively. We had to learn ways
to handle stress - balancing effort and relaxation to leave 50% of our energy
for healing. We'll share what we learned about ways to free ourselves to become
that social and playful, creative and purposeful person we were designed to be
- happy and self-healing.
The Detoxification Step will explain how we tested for and cleansed our body
of pollution and fats. Now our anti-cancer armies were no longer toxic and
blinded like birds in an oil spill. The Immunotherapy Step will tell how
we now could supercharge those armies to rapidly and selectively destroy the
cancer cells within us
Phase II. Attacking the cancer directly
in ways that allow the patient to continue to grow stronger.
Step 8 includes additional alternative treatments that many
of us found to be helpful to eliminate the cancer, but they did not interfere
with restoring the patient's cancer defenses.
We found that these 7 - 8 steps began to
shrink our cancers. We had the options to continue shrinking the cancer until
it was gone, or to escalate to more invasive treatments if more help was
needed. . The first 8 steps also prepare those patients requiring full
conventional therapy to have an easier and more successful outcome, because now
their own anti-cancer armies are strong enough to help.
Phase III Patient is now fortified for
conventional therapy, hopefully with a soaring immune system.
STEP 9 is called mini-conventional therapy. It does just
enough to slow down the cancer without damaging the immune system too much.
Then the immune system can catch up to finish the job. This "lite"
version should decrease side effects such as hair loss and immune suppression
dramatically
In STEP 10, The PROTOCOL shares improvements in conventional
therapy that our doctors made for us - to have the patient healthier, the
immune system stronger, and to perform the treatments incrementally with more
finesse to protect the patient's quality of life.
In most cases, alternative therapy can
make conventional therapy much more successful, but in some cases alternative
treatments such as certain antioxidants should be temporarily suspended.
Studies have shown that complementary use of antioxidants and other alternative
therapies have DOUBLED the success of conventional therapy alone. Consult an
experienced doctor who really knows when they help and when they don't. All
doctors must be kept fully informed so their treatments won't cancel each other
out.
Phase IV RECOVERY
STEP 11 PAIN CONTROL will explain alternative methods of pain control that
studies find to be more effective. They may be healthier and help speed
recovery. Conventional doctors who visit alternative cancer hospitals are
usually amazed at the minimum need for strong pain killers.
STEP 12, STAYING WELL is especially important after conventional therapy,
which can create secondary new cancers. The patient normally continues a
"lite" version of the PROTOCOL for some months to clean up the crumbs
and to eliminate the new cancers that may have been caused by conventional
treatments. IT CAN TAKE MUCH LONGER TO RESTORE ALL THOSE ANTI-CANCER ARMIES
THAN IT TAKES TO ELIMINATE THE CANCER. Then a permanent diet and lifestyle are
designed to provide a lasting cure.
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It
may be too early for cancer freshmen to appreciate what has happened to many
of us cancer graduates. We became grateful to this cancer adventure for leading us (actually, pushing us) through a doorway to a smarter diet and lifestyle - much happier for us and our loved ones. |
WARNING
- DO NOT BE RUSHED INTO
INVASIVE
TREATMENTS THAT DON'T WORK
ALWAYS GET ANOTHER OPINION. A discovery
that shocked many of us is that mdical treatment is not always based on
good scientific evidence. A study by congress has confirmed that most medical
practice in general is based on old traditions and methods that are not
supported by current scientific research. This has launched a new movement in
American medicine called "Evidence-Based Medicine" that is just
starting up. This will be a wonderful companion to INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE.
Meanwhile, we had to work with what is out there now by insisting on getting
the survival statistics from our doctors whenever they recommended invasive
treatments.
When considering invasive therapies,
American cancer patients have to be especially careful. In America, normal
medical ethics ("First of all, do no harm.") have been suspended for
cancer patients, and doctors are allowed to use invasive treatments even if the
treatment even if there is not a likelihood of benefit!
This policy is deplored by other nations,
but justified in American medical journals for "research" and
especially, to keep patients "from the hands of quacks and
charlatans."
It is up to the patients to protect
themselves from useless and dangerous treatments that could sabotage their
recovery, by insisting on real answers to questions like these:
QUESTION 1. How much will this treatment lengthen my TOTAL survival
time or shorten it compared to other options, including the option of doing
nothing?
For example, Mayo
Clinic studies tell us that 92% of prostate cancer patients may do better by
refusing today's invasive treatments. Only the 8% of advanced cases are likely
to benefit. The great majority of men with prostate cancer will die of old age
before they have any symptoms from the cancer, unless they are talked into
invasive treatment.
A major review of
prostate cancer conducted by a panel of experts in 2000 found there were no
gold-standard randomized clinical trials that show surgery, chemotherapy or
radiation improve survival time over "watchful waiting." Instead they
often create unnecessary side effects like urinary and fecal incontinence,
impotence, infections, etc. for the rest of the patients' lives. That's just
one example of why impartial medical experts often recommend "watchful
waiting" instead of treatment for many cancer patients - maybe for you.
If a treatment is
FDA approved, they should have the statistics to prove the benefit. If they
say, they "don’t know," be careful. That can be a diplomatic way of
admitting that they haven't been able to prove any benefit after all these
years.
QUESTION 2. If this treatment hasn't proven to be effective for
this situation, what other conventional, alternative, or international
treatments are there? For one example, if radiation has not proven effective at
improving survival time, is chemotherapy better? Ask for the statistics. Also
many patients and doctors don't realize there are other choices of radiation
and other choices of chemotherapy that may be more effective. They will be
covered in STEP 4 NUTRITION and in STEP 8 MORE ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES
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NOTE We are not
trying to criticize radiation or chemotherapy here. They can be very helpful,
and will be discussed in more detail in STEPS 9 and 10 on conventional
therapy. We use them here as an example to demonstrate the problem of
indiscriminate use of any invasive and potentially harmful treatments, in
situations where they are not effective, and especially when there may be
better domestic and international alternatives. Too often treatment decisions
are dictated by econmic issues if you don't speak up. The right type
of radiation treatment or conventional American chemotherapy for the correct
situation has been credited with saving many lives. We are very grateful to
have these weapons in our arsenal. |
QUESTION 3. Will
this treatment make the quality of my life better or worse compared to other
options such as doing nothing? (If it's worse only temporarily, maybe it's
worth it.) What are all the risks and side effects? Some treatments may
destroy the cancer, but lead to another disease later. Radiation of one organ
may cause cancer later in another. Sometimes chemotherapy commits the patient
to a life of misery.
When asking for statistics, do not be
misled by 5-year survival rates. A 70% survival rate for a treatment may sound
good, until it is compared with an 85% survival rate by doing nothing. In other
words, some invasive treatments may shorten survival time. Also improved tests
can sometimes detect cancer 5 years earlier now, producing an automatic 5-year
survival rate statistically, even with no treatment.
Another problem of misleading information
is "tumor shrinkage." There are good and bad reasons for tumor
shrinkage, and it may or may not correlate with improved survival time. So we
insisted on answers specifically in terms of improvement in survival time
and quality of life. These are the two most important things we needed
to know before making an informed decision.
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FULL DISCLOSURE Often doctors forget to disclose
to patients that surgery, chemotherapy and radiation can themselves cause new
cancers. Surgery, like biopsies (See STEP 2 on biopsies for more information)
can spread cancer cells throughout the circulation. Doctors used to think
this only happened 1 - 3% of the time. More accurate tests now suggest it can
happen as often as 50% of the time. Chemotherapy and radiation are well-known
carcinogens that can create new cancer cells the day of treatment. It usually takes 5 -20 years after these
therapies for the new cancers caused by the treatments themselves to
become large enough to detect. (For some chemotherapy it only takes 2 years.)
When doctors were careful enough to warn us about this looming problem, we had the opportunity to take steps to head it off. One simple solution was to keep our immune system high enough to destroy the new cancers before they could grow. If we weren't warned, and allowed our immune system to remain weak, we could have found out about this problem the hard way - when those new cancers became detectable years later. |
Look out for the red-flag word
"experimental" on the consent agreement. If you are not part of an
official experimental protocol study, this may just be a way to duck liability
for unproven "off-label" treatments that have not been approved
because they have not been found effective.
Even if it is a legitimate experiment,
there is rarely any need, nor do we recommend, hanging your main hopes on an
experiment with the newest conventional or alternative gee-whiz miracle cure.
We all found many successful cancer treatments already available, so we are
skeptical about gambling on any invasive treatment without a good
clinical track record. When one is open to both conventional and alternative
treatments, we found plenty of treatments to do the job. Under INTEGRATIVE
MEDICINE, there should be plenty of treatments to do the job in most cases.
Ninety-nine percent of miracle cures end
up not working in real cancer patients. We believe it usually saves time and
money to wait until any new treatment establishes a successful track record in
human trials (if it ever does) and side effects are known.
Instead, we found that it usually was
better to get more second opinions from other professionals with different
backgrounds and points of view until a better treatment with a good track
record was found. Sometimes that took a while. That's why it is important
to "freeze" the cancer in the meantime (PROTOCOL STEP 3), and to do
careful "watchful waiting" under regular medical supervision.
For a more complete guide on questions to
ask, see the book, "QUESTIONING CHEMOTHERAPY" by Ralph Moss, PhD. He
is an advisor to the government's National Institutes of Health.
THE ABOVE WARNINGS GO DOUBLE FOR
ALTERNATIVE THERAPY. Look for a long, established track record, and talk with
recovered patients before wasting precious time on alternative treatments that
don't work. Many of them are really inventions of a marketing department, not
an effective treatment. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
You don't have to re-invent the wheel, if
you check out the treatments we have already used to get well. More experience
will shed new light on these established treatments to see if they have been
reaffirmed, or replaced with something better.
In the end, all of us found compassionate
and skilled doctors, some of whom even risked their professional reputations
and careers to give us controversial treatments that saved our lives. We are
extremely grateful to our doctors and think it was an American tragedy that
they had to face such risks to choose a better treatment. Hopefully this new
era of INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE will put those times behind us.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AN
EDITORIAL BY SOME OF OUR CANCER GRADUATES
Only in America do doctors routinely start
with the most expensive and most invasive cancer treatments first - even if
they won't help. Then if they don't do the job, the patient may turn to
healthier, less invasive international treatments, known in America as
alternative therapy. This way may work, but we find that it causes much
needless expense and suffering.
We would like to reverse the way
America treats cancer. If alternative therapy is used first to
strengthen patients and their anticancer systems, it may make the most invasive
treatments unnecessary. If the immune system is extra high before hand it won't
be so hard on the patient if conventional therapy (that brings it down) is
required. Recovery can be much easier and faster.
We think that American doctors' first
treatments of choice should be the healthier, less-invasive treatments. Then
they should go on to the expensive, invasive treatments only if and when they
are truly needed and truly effective.
OUR
OPINION OF THERAPIES
|
ALTERNATIVE THERAPY |
CONVENTIONAL THERAPY |
|
Focus on Healing the Patient |
Focus on Attacking the Tumor |
|
A Synergy of Many Poweful, But Less-Invasive Treatments |
A Few Powerful, Invasive Treatments |
|
Best For Long Term Survival |
Best For Emergencies |
|
Works Even For Widely Metastasized Cancers |
Surgery Works For Large, Isolated Tumors |
|
Favor less-invasive blood tests |
Favor invasive biopsies |
|
Strengthens the Immune System |
Weakens the Immune System |
|
Can Prevent Future Cancers |
Can Cause Future Cancers |
|
Can Improve Quality of Life |
Can Reduce Quality of Life |
|
Can Enhance Hair Growth |
Can Make Hair Fall Out |
|
Can Protect Brain Cells |
Can Destroy Brain Cells |
|
Non-Narcotic Solutions For Pain |
Use Narcotics For Severe Pain |
|
Most Healthful Modalities |
Most Invasive Modalities |
|
May speed recovery |
May slow recovery |
|
Works better before conventional therapy |
Works better after alternative therapy |
--------------------END
OF EDITORIAL-------------------
IN CLOSING this introduction, please remember that we are
recovered patients, not trained doctors. What worked for us may not be
appropriate for everyone. And most important, cancer is not a do-it-yourself
project. That's why Step 1 of the PATIENTS' PROTOCOL is SELECTING A WINNING
TEAM of experienced professionals with a track record of successful
patients you can talk to.
To continue on to STEP 1 of the PATIENTS' PROTOCOL,
just click "Next Page" below.
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email your questions, suggestions and comments about this web site to
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Thanks
for helping.
PATIENTS
NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE
|
Patients' National Cancer Institute |
|||
(
Last update Dec 9, 2009-www.PatientsNCI.org)