It only takes a pill. It just needs to be cut out. It is all about estrogen. It is all about testosterone. Disease is the typical outcome of life built into our genetic code without the means for change. Simple, isn’t it? When it comes to conventional medicine, when it comes to the traditional medicine marketing mantra, simple is the modus operandi. Simple would be nice. Simple would be … well, simple. If only simple existed. No matter how much we may want, the body does not work on simple. The perfect example of this simple modus operandi is in the relationship between hormones and cancer.

Simple would have you believe men are nothing more than testosterone-fueled erections and women are merely estrogen-fueled hot flashes. Just look at the popular medical marketing mantra: testosterone causes prostate cancer; estrogen causes breast cancer. If a man is diagnosed with prostate cancer or a woman with breast cancer, testosterone or estrogen is the culprit, and these hormones must be eliminated. It is almost modern-day Wizard of Oz fear-mongering: lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

Though our bodies may seem simple enough, they are a beautiful, complex biochemical machine maintaining an intricate, delicate, balance designed for healing potential. Thank goodness for that complexity! Though advocated as simple, the body is anything but simple.

If it is not simple, then the opposite is true: complexity rules the day. Hormones, especially about cancer, are a perfect example of this complexity. Hormones are just one piece of a very complex puzzle when it comes to hormones and cancer. For scientific, safe, and effective hormone knowledge and therapy in patients with cancer, it takes all the following:

• Re-evaluate definition of normal
• proper hormone evaluation
• knowledge of hormone levels
• hormone balance
• hormone metabolites
• hormone receptors
• outside influences
• physiologic hormone therapy

Re-evaluate normal

The first question that often comes up in the discussion of hormones is are they normal. But, what is normal after all? Who is normal? That discussion could go on for days. Normal is defined as what falls within the statistical reference range of normal. Normal is then determined as a percentage of the population as a whole. The definition of normal can change based on a shift in the population as a whole. As the population becomes more abnormal, then a shift occurs as normal is re-defined. What was once abnormal is now normal, and what is now normal is abnormal.

Statistically speaking, the top 2.5% and the bottom 2.5% are determined to be statistically abnormal, and the other 95% are deemed normal. If I used that logic with my kids, a 65 on a test at school would be considered statistically normal right? From my perspective and my child’s, 65 would not be normal. A 65 falls far closer to failing than succeeding, yet it is statistically normal. This highlights the limitations of this simple definition of normal when discussing anything, but especially hormone levels in people with cancer.

This approach may work for disease medicine (though I highly doubt it), but it is not the best for the pursuit of healing from cancer.

John R. Lee, David Zava, Virginia Hopkins]

What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About: Breast Cancer: How Hormone Balance Can Help Save Your Life

Breakthrough Strategies to Lower Your Risk…and Increase Your Chances of Recovery Breast cancer incidence has risen by 60 percent in the last fifty years. Conventional treatment protocols are simply not working-and they may even be harmful. In this book Dr. John Lee, an internationally renowned expert in natural hormones, teams up with breast cancer researcher Dr. David Zava to present a revolutionary hormone balance program to reduce your risk of breast cancer and help eliminate a recurrence if you already have the disease.

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Breast Cancer

Proper hormone evaluation

In the past, hormone evaluation was limited to blood. Today, hormone evaluations can come in all shapes and sizes: from blood to saliva to urine. Even blood spot and urine spot hormone evaluation are available today. People like my good friend Dr. David Zava have pioneered these hormone evaluation techniques. When it comes to different methods to evaluate hormones, no method is better than another, but it is all about perspective. Each hormone evaluation is a different perspective or separate window into the room of hormone physiology. No one window is better than the other, but each provides a different window with a different perspective.

The various windows provide different clinical aspects that are helping to provide a complete evaluation of hormone physiology of the individual and to provide a complete hormone treatment regimen for the specific environment of the individual with cancer. The question becomes what perspective or what window offers the most useful information for the clinical issue at hand. Is a single image good enough, or is a panoramic view better? For me, I like the complete hormone panoramic view. In the treatment and healing of cancer, no questions should be left unanswered; or in this perspective, is viewed.

Hormone levels

What is your number? The conventional medicine marketing mantra is full of this. Just look at the Testosterone marketing for men. “What is your number?” is a standard marketing cry for low Testosterone clinics around the country. For this reason, I call testosterone clinics the 21st-century version of the methadone clinic.

Contrary to most thought today, hormones are not just about the specific numbers. Hormones are a means of communication throughout the body; a language if you will. I am always amazed at the answers I get when I ask post-menopausal women if they still make hormones. Or men older than 65, if they make testosterone. Most will say no. Because of what they are exposed to in marketing, I am not surprised by their responses. Of course, the answer to both questions is yes. The body must have these hormones to communicate, to live, and to survive. Even after menopause, women need some estrogen.

It can be about the numbers if the numbers are exceedingly low or exceedingly high. However, that is a rare finding and usually occurs as a result of hormone therapy. Hormone impacts on individuals with cancer are rarely about the levels, but more about the balance.

Hormone balance

Hormones must exist in balance. Balance is the source of health and wellness. Just look at the body for the importance of balance. The human body is created in balance: two eyes, two ears, two legs. Try losing a limb and see how the rest of your body is affected by the imbalance. Bumps, bruises, and even worse are definitely in the future. The loss of balance is often the precipitating cause of symptoms short term and contribution to disease risk in the long-term. The most well-publicized hormone imbalance is that of the estrogens and progesterone in women, but the irregularities of hormones are widespread in the body and have a significant impact on cancer risk and cancer healing. Imbalances are not just isolated to hormones, but also apply to neurotransmitters and the immune system. The body must exist in balance.

Hormone metabolism

Metabolism is presented as merely the means to gain or lose weight. Metabolism goes far beyond this simple definition. Metabolism is the mass production of day-to-day cellular processes that help the cell survive and thrive or not. In reality, metabolism is a measure of optimal cellular and thus body homeostasis. Thus metabolism can correctly be defined and applied to all cellular and body functions that result in day-to-day cellular homeostasis.

How the body processes hormones are called hormone metabolism. Hormone metabolites are just as important as the individual hormone levels and the hormone balance themselves. It may be more important as they reflect the flow, the trend of hormone movement, which is so essential in the assessment of function. We need to look at function, not static values — the body functions. The body is by no means static.

Hormone metabolites are just as they sound—the breakdown products that are the result of hormone metabolism. Whether the body endogenously makes hormones or whether they are exogenously administered through hormone therapy, hormone metabolism manages the breakdown of these hormones to help the body survive, thrive, or not.

The error is to think that hormone metabolites are merely waste products without any activity or physiologic significance. This has been the long-held thought. The truth is that hormone metabolites are very much active in hormone signaling. Hormone metabolites provide much of the risk and side effects equated to hormones and hormone therapy in cancer that is often overlooked. Not all hormone metabolites are harmful. Some of these hormone metabolites can also provide significant protection.

Jennifer K. Reilly

The Cancer Survivor's Guide: Foods that Help You Fight Back

The Cancer Survivor's Guide explains how foods influence the hormones that fuel cancer and how a dietary change to a low-fat, plant-based diet can be beneficial to anyone diagnosed with cancer. Each section describes specific nutrients and how they work in your body, which foods are the best sources, recommended recipes, and offers simple, practical steps you can take during the week to increase consumption of these foods.

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Cancer

Hormone receptors

Hormone receptors are just what the words imply. They are the receptors that the individual hormones bind too. Once the hormones bind to the respective receptors, the signal of the hormone is then internalized inside the cell through a series of secondary messengers. Hormone receptors are the doorway to the cell. Most of these signals then interact with DNA to turn genes off/on. There are, however, non-DNA and non-hormone receptor signaling that occurs as well. Again, straightforward need not apply. As crucial as hormone receptors are to the signal transmission of hormones to the cell, they are impossible to assess except in the case of physical tissue specimens in biopsies.

Outside influences

We are all products of our genetics (DNA) and our environment. The DNA that we have inherited from our parents is hard-wired. In contrast, the expression of DNA is not hard-wired but is quite fluid. The lifestyle choices we make and the environment we expose our DNA to influences the very expression of our DNA. Let this settle in for a moment. Though our DNA is fixed, we can determine whether genes are turned on or genes are turned off. These effects can be good, or they can be bad. This is called the study of epigenetics or the study of things “above genetics.” Above genetics includes items — i.e., diet, stress, sleep — that are above genetics, yet influence the expression of genetics. For example, studies have shown that our diet can affect our genetic expression to increase or decrease cancer risk. [1] Sorry, when your mom told you to eat your broccoli, she knew something that researchers are just now discovering. Broccoli anyone?

The same “environment” that can influence genetics can also affect the expression of hormones. One might call it the study of epihormones or “above hormones” if such a review existed. Based on the current dogma and outcomes of conventional medicine in hormones and cancer, it clearly should exist.

Physiologic hormone therapy

The classic approach to most things these days is that more is better: super-size that drink, super-size those fries. Unfortunately, the same super-size logic applies to medicine today. This is no more apparent than in hormones. Just look at how conventional medicine handles low hormones: More is good, and a lot is even better.

The conventional approach to hormones is the same approach to chemotherapy: more is better; when the ole testosterone levels in men or estrogen levels in women are running on empty, you stop off at your local doc station to filler up with more testosterone or estrogen. The overdosing of these hormones is evident in the testing of these patients as well as the complications of these dosing strategies. If testosterone therapy causes cancer or thickens the blood (polycythemia) or causes aggressiveness/rage/anger issues, then why doesn’t endogenous testosterone production cause the same at age 24 when peak testosterone production occurs in men? The point is that is doesn’t.

These symptoms are simply the result of overdosing. If testosterone doesn’t cause these symptoms at the peak age of production of 24, then it shouldn’t work with optimal physiologic dosing. It only does with overdosing. The same can be said of estrogen and breast cancer. If testosterone caused prostate cancer and if estrogen caused breast cancer, then every young man and young woman would have breast cancer. They don’t. The more is better philosophy — the super-size logic — need not apply to hormone therapy. That is if your goal is health and healing.

The post ‘More is better’ need not apply to hormone therapy appeared first on Cancer Tutor.

“As we follow the seven key principles, the non-toxic cancer therapies, oxygenation, detoxification, strengthening the immune system, the emotional spiritual,” says Dr. Antonio Jimenez, “let's not forget about nutrition and of course, the microbiome. The infamous microbiome that starts in the gut but in reality, our body is a microbiome.

“It's an environment where we have to control our healthy and pathogenic viruses, bacteria and live in what's called a symbiosis or a state of health and regulation.

“I've seen tens of thousands of patients not only in Mexico but around the world, and I truly believe that only through these seven key principles can we give the patient the best opportunity of having a favorable outcome.”

You can learn more in Dr. Tony's new book, Hope for Cancer: 7 Principles to Remove Fear and Empower Your Healing Journey:

• Practical ways to fight cancer while maintaining your health.
• The latest non-toxic therapies that are having remarkable results.
• Patients who have overcome the odds using the methods in this book.
• The emotional and spiritual aspects of cancer and how it can unlock your healing journey.

Consider this your guidebook for removing the fear so often associated with a cancer diagnosis, and become empowered with knowledge!

Learn more about Hope4Cancer Treatment Centers.

The post ‘Hope for Cancer:’ How 7 Principles apply to microbiome appeared first on Cancer Tutor.

The culmination of Hope4Cancer Treatment Centers’ Founder and Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Antonio “Tony” Jimenez’s 30+ years of clinical experience with advanced-stage cancer patients, Hope for Cancer offers scientific insight and emotional empowerment to anyone suffering from the disease.

Based on Hope4Cancer’s unique healing program, The 7 Key Principles of Cancer Therapy, Hope for Cancer puts the exact method used to successfully treat thousands of cancer patients from all walks of life inside their two international clinics right into the reader’s hands. This groundbreaking, full-color manual breaks down complex therapies and clarifies ambiguous concepts with vivid imagery, easy-to-understand graphics, and practical action steps.

For anyone who understands the importance of creating and sustaining a healthy life physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, Hope for Cancer is a must-read — the ultimate guide for cancer prevention and treatment.

You can learn more in Dr. Tony's new book, Hope for Cancer: 7 Principles to Remove Fear and Empower Your Healing Journey:

• Practical ways to fight cancer while maintaining your health.
• The latest non-toxic therapies that are having remarkable results.
• Patients who have overcome the odds using the methods in this book.
• The emotional and spiritual aspects of cancer and how it can unlock your healing journey.

Consider this your guidebook for removing the fear so often associated with a cancer diagnosis, and become empowered with knowledge!

Learn more about Hope4Cancer Treatment Centers.

The post Hope4Cancer’s integrative approach to treatment appeared first on Cancer Tutor.

For Dr. Antonio Jimenez, the fight against cancer was personal. His father was diagnosed and like many others, fear of the disease was real.

In his new book, Hope for Cancer: 7 Principles to Remove Fear and Empower Your Healing Journey, Dr. Tony offers the guiding principles of his Hope4Cancer Treatment Centers:

NON-TOXIC CANCER THERAPIES

• Treatment plans designed to substitute traditional methods with non-toxic therapies

IMMUNOMODULATION

• Biological vaccines to strengthen and stimulate the immune system, restoring its natural ability

FULL SPECTRUM NUTRITION

• A personalized meal plan developed by our in-house nutritionist, assuring balanced caloric intake

DETOXIFICATION

• Therapies to complement your personal treatment plan, removing harmful metals and minerals, and enhancing your overall recovery

OXYGENATION

• To simultaneously support the healing of healthy cells and prevent toxic buildup

RESTORE MICROBIOME

• Ensure bacteria, fungi, viruses, and protozoa ecosystem is healthy and balanced

EMOTIONAL AND SPIRITUAL HEALING

• Therapies focusing on healing both the mind and spirit play an integral part in every Hope4Cancer treatment plan

Dr. Tony's 7 Principles of cancer therapy is the culmination of 25 years of real clinical experience with advanced-stage cancer patients from all over the world. Learn how treating cancer is not just about treating the symptoms of cancer, but going deeper into the core characteristics of all cancer and addressing the root cause of the disease.

The post Doctor’s ‘Hope for Cancer’ details personal quest appeared first on Cancer Tutor.

Dr. Antonio Jimenez explains that Hope4Cancer Treatment Centers “treat the person with cancer — not cancer in the person.

“Simply speaking is that we want to take a holistic approach to that disease process. Of course, that includes the physical, the emotional-spiritual, and the mental.

“That's when you truly are going to have sustaining, long-term benefits instead of just addressing the tumor in the person and not taking into account the person's emotional, spiritual, personality, thought processes, social environment and so forth.”

Dr. Tony's new book, Hope for Cancer: 7 Principles to Remove Fear and Empower Your Healing Journey, offers:

• Practical ways to fight cancer while maintaining your health.
• The latest non-toxic therapies that are having remarkable results.
• Patients who have overcome the odds using the methods in this book.
• The emotional and spiritual aspects of cancer and how it can unlock your healing journey.

Consider this your guidebook for removing the fear so often associated with a cancer diagnosis, and become empowered with knowledge!

Learn more about Hope4Cancer Treatment Centers.

The post Hope4Cancer’s individual treatment approach appeared first on Cancer Tutor.

Dr. Antonio Jimenez has written a book, Hope for Cancer: 7 Principles to Remove Fear and Empower Your Healing Journey.

These seven principles are the guiding philosophy to the treatments that Hope4Cancer Treatment Centers adhere to while they personalize regimens for patients.

Dr. Tony notes, “You have the right to choose. Once you know your options, you know what's out there, you know other possibilities of treatment.

“If you're with a doctor that says, ‘This is all I can give you,' or a doctor that says, ‘That's it. I gave you everything. There's nothing more,' — absolutely not. There are always tools in the toolbox.”

In Hope for Cancer you'll find:

• Practical ways to fight cancer while maintaining your health.
• The latest non-toxic therapies that are having remarkable results.
• Patients who have overcome the odds using the methods in this book.
• The emotional and spiritual aspects of cancer and how it can unlock your healing journey.

Consider this your guidebook for removing the fear so often associated with a cancer diagnosis, and become empowered with knowledge!

Learn more about Hope4Cancer Treatment Centers.

The post Dr. Antonio Jimenez offers ‘Hope for Cancer’ appeared first on Cancer Tutor.

Glutathione, also known as “the master antioxidant,” is a powerful substance produced and used by all cells in the body. Glutathione has a broad repertoire of clinically proven benefits for health.

However, its levels can be compromised during disease, and cancer is, perhaps, the most glutathione-depleting disease there is.

Glutathione deficiencies are common in patients with long-term diseases or exposed to high levels of oxidative stress by toxic substances. [1]

What is glutathione?

Glutathione is a peptide composed of three important amino acids, hence it is also called tripeptide. [1]

Researchers have suggested that cellular levels of glutathione could be used as a biomarker to determine life expectancy. [1, 2]

Glutathione is the most important antioxidant in the body. What makes glutathione unique is that it is found inside each of the cells in our body. Without glutathione, our cells cannot carry out their activities optimally. [1]

Glutathione does much more than simply inhibit free radicals. It also protects many systems and organs during disease or the deterioration that a disease entails.

Glutathione has been defined as a “defense agent against toxicity by xenobiotics” — that is, it protects against the harm of taking drugs, environmental pollutants and carcinogens. [1]

A deficiency of glutathione can manifest itself in the form of increased susceptibility to oxidative stress, which is thought to be involved in the genesis of a wide variety of diseases, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and also cancer. [1]

The regulation of glutathione metabolism “could be a fundamental part in any strategy to provide health.” [1, 2]

Hence, glutathione deficiencies can lead to the onset of several diseases or the worsening of already present ones. There are several ways to increase its levels in the body, i. e. through the oral intake of it or nutraceuticals that are precursors of it like alpha lipoic acid, NAC, etc.

A powerful way of delivering glutathione to all tissues in your body is by I.V. infusion, a safe and efficient procedure when applied by a well-trained health expert.

How glutathione is beneficial for cancer patients

It is the most potent antioxidant. Oxidative stress is one of the contributing factors to the development of cancers. [3] Glutathione reduces the number of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the damage caused by oxidative stress in cells and DNA. [1, 2, 4] Glutathione protects against chronic diseases linked to oxidative stress. Oxidative stress has been related to diseases from cancer to neurodegeneration, among others.In addition to neutralizing reactive oxygen species (ROS), glutathione has the incredible ability to “regenerate” other antioxidants in the body such as vitamin C and Vitamin E. [1]

It fights inflammation. A chronic inflammatory status of our body is a contributing factor to the development or worsening of cancer. [3] Glutathione is known to inhibit the production of most inflammatory cytokines. [1] Glutathione deficiency causes inflammation of the airways in mice. This inflammation was reduced and completely restored once glutathione was started. [1]
Glutathione inhibits the transcription factor NF-K, which increases several genes related to inflammation. [1]

It is an essential part of an integrative treatment for cancer. Glutathione is the most important actor in the regulation of life, proliferation, and death of cancer cells. Glutathione deficiency leads to an increase in oxidative stress damage that facilitates cancer progression. There is a correlation between the increase in glutathione intake and the decrease in the risk of mouth and throat cancer. [1]

Glutathione is also key in the repair of damage caused to cells and tissues by chemotherapy drugs in cancer patients (1). Glutathione is essential in the elimination and detoxification of carcinogenic substances. However, very high levels of glutathione, being an antioxidant, could reduce the effectiveness of certain chemotherapy drugs. So it is necessary to maintain a certain balance. That is, increase the levels without overdosing in case of chemotherapy. [1, 2]

At Verita Life, Glutathione forms just one part of our integrative cancer treatment program.

The post I.V. Glutathione for integrative cancer treatment appeared first on Cancer Tutor.

Millions of people are traveling abroad for healthcare services due to freedom of choice and affordability. Have you ever considered this possibility?

As a young, recently graduated physician in 1986, little did I know that by moving to Tijuana I was getting immersed in the world of medical tourism. Thirty-three years later, it still evokes warm feelings, remembering the hundreds of patients from all over the world I have had the immense privilege to treat. Without hesitation, I can say, the vast majority of these have been happy and satisfied they took the leap of faith to come to Tijuana seeking healthcare.

Freedom of choice here in Mexico allows medical institutions to ensemble treatment protocols which are both scientifically backed and highly effective, and at.a fraction of the cost of other countries. Over the last few decades, this multidisciplinary approach — which combines conventional western means of healing, with holistic and natural approaches has flourished, thanks to several clinics and hospitals.

Over my many years here in Tijuana, and thanks to the massive influx of patients demanding freedom of choice, I became familiar with therapies and healing methods such as laetrile, ozone therapy, naturopathy, chelation, etc., that were never taught to me in university. As well, I had the honor of learning from prominent scientists and practitioners in the fields of holistic medicine, homeopathy, and functional medicine.

Historically, it was back in the early 1960s when Mexico saw a boom in alternative cancer treatment clinics and hospitals. At the time, pioneers such as Dr. Ernesto Contreras, Harold Manner, Charlotte Gerson, and others used therapies such as the metabolic therapy, B-17, a variety of ozone treatments, Gerson therapy, etc., which started to build up Mexico’s still-growing reputation abroad. [1]

Geographically, Tijuana is strategically located on the northwestern-most point of Mexico, just across the border from San Diego. Travel-wise, both cities have airports with connections to the entire globe.

Through the years, the number of visitors to this region for health-related motives has been steadily growing. At the beginning of the 21st century, there was a yearly influx of about 250,000 medical tourists; in 2014 it got up to 800,000; in this 2019 the expectation is more than 2,000,000 visitors for healthcare reasons. [2] Something good must be happening in Baja!

Bernard Jensen

Nature Has a Remedy

Dr. Jensen has traveled the world on a quest to learn how other cultures deal with illness. This extraordinary book compiles much of the knowledge he gleaned and includes a wealth of information on dietary deficiencies, healthy circulation, herbs, tonics, exercise, and much more.

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Nutrition

This vibrant healthcare industry has, in turn, promoted a high concentration of well-trained, certified professionals, and the development and availability of world-class facilities. In Baja, California, you can now find the most experienced professionals in complementary and alternative therapies in the world and it is this area of healthcare that a substantial number of foreign visitors look for when they come here.

The post Is medical tourism for integrative treatment worthwhile? appeared first on Cancer Tutor.

What are the dendritic cells? Dendritic cells are phagocytes, a special type of immune cell found in tissues, such as the skin, which stimulate immune responses by presenting an antigen on its surface earlier than other cells of the immune system.

The idea that the immune system has anti-cancer capabilities is not new. At the beginning of the 20th century, Paul Ehrlich proposed his theory of immunological surveillance for cancer. [1] According to Ehrlich, the tumor cells appeared spontaneously in the body and the immune system eliminated them. In fact, it seems that the efficacy of classical treatments also largely depends on the activation of immunological responses after the release of immuno-stimulatory molecules from necrotic cells.

The efficacy of immunotherapy against cancer depends on the immunogenicity of tumor cells to induce cytotoxic T responses. [2] Therefore, cancer cells should express immunogenic antigens that can become therapeutic targets. The first immunotherapies, available in the 60s, were directed against viral antigens expressed by oncogenic viruses.

However, only a low number of human cancers are caused by viral infections. In fact, the theory of the viral etiology of cancers could not explain the immunological responses generated against chemically induced tumors or the spontaneous regressions of cancers in people vaccinated against common pathogens or by administering adjuvants. These results demonstrated the existence of tumor antigens of non-viral origin. [3]

With the passage of time, it was discovered that cancer cells accumulated transformative mutations that resulted in genetic instability, increased cell survival, and uncontrolled proliferation. Many of the proteins affected in these mutations are transcription factors, intracellular signaling molecules (ras), cell division regulators and anti-oncogenes. The uncontrolled proliferation and the defects in the cellular DNA repair provoke even more mutations, which give rise to the aberrant expression of cellular proteins (mutated or not), conferring immunogenicity to the cancer cells. [4]

Immunotherapy against cancer with dendritic cells

Dendritic cells are the most effective and ideal antigen presenting cells for immunotherapy. Dendritic cells are easily differentiated from mouse bone marrow using recombinant GM-CSF, and also from human monocytes. These ex vivo production methods accelerated the progress of DC-based immunotherapy, as their number ceased to be a limiting factor.

Differentiated dendritic cells are phenotypically and functionally immature, which facilitates their manipulation. One of the great problems of immunotherapy against cancer, however, is the inefficient activation of effector T cells. Thus, vaccination with Dendritic cells seems to be the best option. The enhancement of their endogenous antigen presentation capabilities could break the natural tolerance against endogenous tumor antigens. [5]

Rene Chee and Edward Chee

Curing Cancer with Immunotherapy

This is the real-life story of Rene Chee, a biologist diagnosed with an aggressive cancer while working at Stanford University. After conventional treatment, she realizes it is a matter of time before her incurable cancer returns and takes her life.

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Cancer

The large-scale production of dendritic cells allowed its direct application in vaccination, after incubation with tumor antigens, either in the form of peptides or from tumor lysates. Another advantage of the ex vivo production of dendritic cells is the ease with which they can be genetically modified with viral and non-viral vectors. In addition, since its state of maturation can be controlled with relative ease, dendritic cells are ideal for immunotherapies.

Dendritic cells generated ex vivo have been used to generate T responses against infectious agents and cancer. The preclinical results in immunotherapy with DC-generated ex vivo have provided relevant data tools. [6]

No question, this field of research opens up an exciting and encouraging new horizon of cancer therapies and is something our patients at Verita Life already benefit from.

The post Dendritic cells: The awakening of your immune system appeared first on Cancer Tutor.

Doctors have a new ally to deal with cases of cancer patients who have two or more possible treatments: the chemosensitivity test.

This is a laboratory test that measures the number of tumor cells that a certain cancer drug eliminates. The test is done after the tumor cells are collected from the patient’s body. These cells are then cultured under strictly controlled conditions and then exposed to different kinds of anti-tumoral drugs. A chemosensitivity test can help you choose the best option or the best combination of cancer drugs for a specific patient’s case.

This procedure is very well capable of avoiding the frustration derived from the failure of chemotherapy agents and by identifying the most effective approach to a specific patient’s case. It can also help avoid the occurrence of harsh and unnecessary side effects by ruling out treatments which are not optimal in each specific case.

An excellent example of this kind of test was described by the research TAILORx on breast cancer, as presented in a recent ASCO Meeting. [1] The German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) concluded that, among the genomic tests available, only Oncotype Dxha has enough data to be used in the choice about the use of chemotherapy. A similar judgment was expressed by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) in updating its guidelines.

Despite all of this evidence, this kind of test is not covered by many of the national healthcare systems in the world.

Endowed with state-of-the-art technology, Chemosensitivity Laboratories are, however, spear-heading the field of biotechnology and chemosensitivity testing, to provide further information that enhances a cancer specialist’s ability to choose the most appropriate therapy for each individual patient. Key to the development is a unique machine that analyzes both tissues and each cell individually. A pioneer in this biotech area is American chemist Peter Andreotti. [2]

Of course, Oncology has very clear guidelines to treat each cancer, however, this technique is very useful to solve special situations.

There are some tumors in which there is more than one possible initial treatment; where one will serve the patient more than the other. In other cases, the tumor is so advanced that many treatments do not work and the best option should be further sought.

Analyzing cases of patients with triple negative breast cancer, for example, is very difficult to approach due to the limited options of treatment and the fact that cancer cells do not interact with hormone receptors. In particular, this is an area where scientists are looking at possible better treatment options and outcomes thanks to this test.

At Verita Life Clinics, this biotech test allows us to really be tougher on the Cancer and easier on the patient with no more blind spots when it comes down to selecting the right drug or combination of drugs. Our weaponry is more accurately aimed at the specific weaknesses of personal cancerous cells while we also work on improving the patient’s overall physical, psychological and nutritional health.

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