Posted by Jonathan Chamberlain on May 31, 2008
Re: Cancer: The Complete Recovery Guide
“The section on conventional treatment was riveting. For someone like me, who’s chosen the alternative route right from the start, that section is actually very comforting! Leaves you in no doubt that there is no alternative to the alternatives!” – Ann Napier, Publisher, Cygnus Book Club
Posted in Book Comments | Tagged: alternative treatment, cancer, Cancer Recovery Guide, Cancer: The Complete Recovery Guide, conventional treatment | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Jonathan Chamberlain on May 30, 2008
The Big Book: Cancer: The Complete Recovery Guide
The Small Book: Cancer Recovery Guide: 15 Alternative and Complementary Strategies for Restoring Health – For more information go to www.fightingcancer.com
“This book tells me everything. Why didn’t my doctor tell me this?”- Rev. Bill Newbern
LIVER CLEANSING SOUP
Loretta Lamphier’s recipe for a Cleansing Soup
There are foods that can help with detoxification but it will take them a long time to actually cleanse effectively. Beet juice is very cleansing, but you must be careful with this and not drink too much in the beginning. Milk Thistle will help to support the liver.
Cleansing Soup (This will “help” with cleansing)
1 Organic Beet – Chopped
2 Organic Carrots – Chopped
10 Organic Garlic cloves – Minced
½ Organic Onion – Chopped
1 Teaspoon Organic Himalayan Sea Salt
½ Teaspoon Organic Turmeric
½ Teaspoon Organic Oregano
Pour 32 ounces of purified water into a soup pot. Add all of the ingredients to the water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and then simmer on low heat for one hour. Eat this soup for your lunch meal.
The ingredients are high in naturally occurring sulphur and glutathione. Sulphur helps the liver detoxify harmful chemicals. The combination of these foods will help your liver purge toxins during the cleansing process. Other liver and gallbladder detoxifying foods are artichoke, asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, kale, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower which may also be added to the soup if you wish.
Posted in Comments and Suggestions | Tagged: cleanse, detox, liver | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Jonathan Chamberlain on May 13, 2008
Ralph Moss’s Newsletter for May 11, 2008 (see www.cancerdecisions.com)
WHERE TO GO – A SURVEY OF WORLDWIDE CAM CANCER RESOURCESOne of our newsletter readers wrote to us this week about the term ‘evidence-based medicine.’ “I am hearing this phrase more and more often,” he wrote, “and typically I’m seeing it used as a means of putting down alternative medicine, as though only conventional medicine has the right to a place at the table, and anything else lacks legitimacy.” Certainly ‘evidence-based medicine’ (EBM) is an interesting and somewhat loaded phrase, the unambiguous implication of which is that medicine comes in two varieties – the kind that is based on a solid foundation of objective evidence, and the kind that is not. Because of the apparently stark good-versus-bad division it suggests, the phrase lends itself well to being used as a pejorative by those who are outspokenly opposed to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). To such people, anything other than standard conventional medicine is by definition unproven, speculative, founded on dubious premises and inherently inferior. As our perceptive reader pointed out, the term ‘evidence-based medicine’ is often used by such people as a rhetorical weapon, a means of devaluing anything that cannot be clearly identified as mainstream conventional medicine. Yet this was not at all the intended meaning of the term as it was originally conceived. The Evidence-Based Medicine Working Group (EBMWG), a research collaborative of clinicians and epidemiologists from Ontario’s McMaster University, who first coined the phrase in 1992, were not attempting to draw a contrast between orthodox and unconventional medicine; far from it. They were in fact trying to change the medical profession’s entrenched tendency to cling, mainly out of habit, to procedures and treatments for which there was little if any solid evidence of effectiveness (EBMWG 1992). According to David L. Sackett, MD, one of the original McMaster group, and author of numerous subsequent papers on the concept of evidence-based medicine, EBM is intended to be “the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients. The practice of evidence-based medicine means integrating individual clinical experience with the best available external clinical evidence from systematic research” (Sackett, 1996). These are laudable aims, to be sure. We all want medical care that is based on the best available evidence rather than on unyielding habit or diehard medical tradition. But exactly how far has medicine come towards that goal in the decade and a half since the McMaster University team first advocated the adoption of EBM? Are most current medical treatments backed by solid evidence of effectiveness? Very Few Treatments Are EffectiveThe venerable British Medical Journal has an offshoot publication, BMJ Clinical Evidence, whose mission is to provide physicians and patients with the best available evidence, garnered wherever possible from randomized, controlled clinical trials (RCTs), which are considered to be the most reliable and rigorous standard for measuring treatment effectiveness. The journal describes itself as “the international source of the best available evidence for effective health care.” “What proportion of commonly used treatments are supported by good evidence, what proportion should not be used or used only with caution, and how big are the gaps in our knowledge?” asks the publication’s Web site (BMJ 2007). Of around 2500 treatments so far reviewed by the journal’s distinguished team of advisors, peer reviewers, experts, information specialists and statisticians, only 13 percent have been found definitely beneficial. A further 23 percent are rated as likely to be beneficial; 8 percent can be classified as a trade off between benefits and harms; 6 percent as clearly unlikely to be beneficial; 4 percent are likely to be ineffective or harmful, and a whopping 46 percent – almost half of all treatments reviewed – are rated as being of unknown effectiveness.
As the journal acknowledges, these figures suggest that most treatment decisions rest not on solid evidence obtained through properly conducted clinical trials, but on the individual preferences of clinicians, unsupported in the majority of cases by any concrete evidence of benefit. So, given that very few of conventional medicine’s standard treatments have been demonstrated to have any clear benefit whatever – and conversely, that a substantial proportion have been shown to be potentially harmful – it is somewhat ironic to see the term ‘evidence-based medicine’ used as a war cry by those who are virulently opposed to CAM. Is EBM Compatible with Individualized Patient Care?Another aspect of the EBM debate that bears close scrutiny is the question of whether it is always in the patient’s best interests to be treated according to standardized EBM protocols. On the surface, it seems obvious that patients will benefit when physicians prescribe only those treatments that have been proven through clinical trials to be effective. However, there are those, like Erich Loewy, MD, a bioethicist and professor of medicine at the University of California, Davis, who argue very persuasively that things are not nearly as black and white as they seem, and that EBM, as it is currently practiced, may actually not serve patients well. In a thought-provoking article for the online medical forum Medscape, Dr. Loewy cites the danger of using EBM as a standard protocol into which any patient with a given disease can simply be plugged. He writes: “To me, as a bioethicist and…a physician who has observed the evolution of EBM, I am impressed with the danger to physicians, patients, the educative process, and, ultimately, to the behavior it encourages. Mindless reliance on EBM does exactly what we do not want our students to do: convert what is a suffering human being, with a unique personal life-history, into a specimen of pathophysiology or a heart murmur” (Loewy, 2007). Dr. Loewy lists a number of ways in which EBM may ultimately result in decisions that are not in the best interests of patients. For example, he writes, “EBM protocols start out being considered as guideposts and end up being considered as straightjackets – and straightjackets that are welcomed by many physicians.” One physician actually went so far as to tell Dr. Loewy that he was enthusiastic about EBM guidelines precisely because they saved time and did not require him to think. Dr. Loewy points out that EBM, as practiced in large institutions, can have the highly undesirable effect of stifling thought and constraining good diagnostic and clinical judgment. Doctors who ‘think outside the box’ and who feel that a particular patient is uniquely suited for a treatment option that is currently not listed as standard EBM, risk being disciplined by their institution. “EBM is basically anti-intellectual,” Loewy writes. Thinking, he reminds us, is among the physician’s most important tasks, and EBM protocols, which often consist of nothing more than standard check sheets, actively discourage thinking. Worse, because of the potential for EBM to result in mechanistic treatment decisions that take no account of individual variation, this method “threatens to separate the patient’s uniqueness further from the physician and would support looking at the disease instead of at the patient who happens to have that disease.” The essence of CAM is its focus on the individual and its insistence on the rationality and centrality of individualized treatment. Of course it is extremely important to establish treatment guidelines, and to conduct rigorous research into the effectiveness of currently accepted standards of treatment. Teaching physicians to evaluate available treatment options according to whether or not such therapies actually result in measurable benefit to patients might go a long way towards improving care (and reducing costs). But when evidence-based medicine becomes a means of strangling diagnostic skill and reducing patients to algorithms or numbers on a checklist, medicine can no longer call itself the art of healing.
References: How Much Do We Know? BMJ Clinical Evidence. Accessed May 9 2008: Evidence-Based Medicine Working Group. Evidence-based medicine: A new approach to teaching the practice of medicine. JAMA. 1992;268(17):2420-2425. Loewy EH. Ethics and Evidence-Based Medicine: Is There A Conflict? Medscape General Medicine 2007;9(3):30. Accessed May 9 2008: Sackett DL, Rosenberg WM, Gray JA, et al. Evidence based medicine: what it is and what it isn’t. BMJ. 1996;312:71-72. |
Posted in Cancer Perspectives | Tagged: cancer, evidence-based medicine, medicine | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Jonathan Chamberlain on May 5, 2008
Are mobile phones responsible for the disappearance of the
bees? And now the disappearance of the bats? Read on to
find out what is becoming glaringly apparent…
1. First It Was Bees, Now It’s Bats That Are Dying
April 11, 2008 – by Heidi Stevenson
From: http://www.naturalnews.com/022989.html
Though bats are a bit spooky looking, inviting thoughts of
Dracula, the real horror story is that bats are becoming sick
and perishing. A massive bat die-off is happening. Their
extinction in the United States is threatening — and no one
knows why.
Just as news of the massive bee die off is fading away —
though not actually ending — the plight of bats in the United
States is starting to come out. The loss of bats may be an even
worse concern than the loss of bees, which are exclusively tame
and mass-raised — over-stressed, over-bred, and grown to be
over-sized. They’re used to pollinate crops, especially ones
that are not natural to the areas in which they’re grown, such
as almonds in California. Wild bees are doing just fine.
In contrast, the lost bats are all wild. They are the world’s
greatest insect eaters. A single nursing bat can eat half its
weight in insects every day. A small brown bat can eat as many
as 600 mosquitoes in an hour. The implications for agriculture
are enormous. The spread of severe communicable diseases could
be devastating.
The epicenter of this annihilation is New York, but there are
reports of die offs from as far away as Texas. Reports began
trickling in last year. It started with hikers noticing dead
and dying bats littered outside the caves where they hibernate.
They do not normally fly during the winter or daytime, and it
was quickly realized that bats flying when they should be
hibernating do not survive. They are, therefore, being called
“dead bats flying”. The loss of bats has cascaded this winter
to the point where researchers are expressing fear that an
extinction is underway.
The cause is unknown, though there is a name for the
phenomenon, White Nose Syndrome. It’s the result of a fungus
that’s particularly obvious on the nose and face, though it’s
found dotted all over the bats’ bodies. It is believed, though,
to be only a symptom of an underlying problem, as yet unknown.
There are theories, of course. Causes like virus and bacterial
infections are possible. Many bats have been found to have
pneumonia, but it is considered to be a secondary symptom, like
the fungus.
A more likely cause of bat die off is the use of pesticides.
Bats are known to be sensitive to the same toxins used to kill
insects — just as we humans are. The fact that there are
newly-introduced pesticides, specifically designed to stop West
Nile Virus, is suspicious. It may be that the bats are starving
from lack of food as a result of the new pesticides’
effectiveness. This could be the worst possible scenario, since
the ultimate effect of all pesticides has been the development
of pesticide-resistant insects. If the bats disappear because
of starvation, then eventually, when the insects have become
resistant, there will be nothing to control them.
There is reason to believe that starvation is the primary cause
of death. Dead bats’ fat reserves are depleted. Whether this is
the result of infection, toxins, or loss of food is unknown.
The bats’ behavior is severely disturbed. As previously noted,
they never fly during the day or in winter. Only sick and dying
bats have been emerging from their caves during the day in the
winter, when they are normally hibernating. They are also noted
to be hibernating close the the caves’ entrances, in contrast
with their usual inclination to go deeper inside. This might be
the result of being forced to search for food, but may also be
caused by another disturbance. Many diseases change the
behavior of their victims. A well-known example of this is
aggressiveness and fear of water in rabies victims.
What Bat Die-Off Means to Humanity
The first problem people note may be a profusion of mosquitoes
this year. Bats are nature’s primary means of controlling
mosquito populations. Although it’s possible that the excessive
use of pesticides will keep this under control temporarily, the
day must come when the piper will be paid, as new toxin-
resistant mosquitoes develop. Ultimately, these diseases are
likely to multiply aggressively — but by then, the bats that
keep them under control may be gone.
Major diseases borne by mosquitoes include West Nile Fever,
Eastern Equine Encephalitis, Malaria, and Dengue Fever. All of
them are severe and life-threatening.
Crops may be affected. Bats are significant controllers of many
crop-destructive insects. As with diseases, the severity of the
risk is dependent on how long it takes to manifest — the
longer, the worse the effects. If pesticide use results in crop
loss occurring later, after the bats are gone, then it is
likely to be devastating.
What the Experts Are Saying
The president of Bat Conservation International, Merlin Tuttle,
has stated, “So far as we can tell at this point, this may be
the most serious threat to North American bats we’ve
experienced in recorded history.”
A wildlife biologist with Vermont’s Fish and Wildlife
Department, Scott Darling says, “Logic dictates when you are
potentially losing as many as a half a million bats in this
region, there are going to be ramifications for insect
abundance in the coming summer.” “Ramifications for insect
abundance” can be translated as massive mosquito outbreaks.
Unfortunately, there is much about bats that is unknown. Even
how many exist is in question, as new hibernacula (caves where
bats hibernate) are being discovered as bat bodies littered at
previously unknown cave entrances are discovered. This means
that the benefits of bats’ voracious insect-eating habits have
gone unrecorded, indicating that the cost of their loss may be
even greater than realized. Elizabeth Buckles, an assistant
professor at Cornell who coordinates bat research, has said,
“We’re going to learn an awful lot about bats in a
comprehensive way that very few animal species have been looked
at. That’s good. But it’s unfortunate it has to be under these
circumstances.”
A study of the impact of Brazilian free-tailed bats of
southwestern Texas has shown their economic value to cotton
farmers to be worth between one-eighth and one-sixth of the
commercial value of the crops.
Further complicating the issue is the fact that most bats can
raise only one offspring a year. Thomas French, assistant
director for natural heritage and endangered species of
MassWildLife in Massachusetts, says, “High bat mortality is a
major concern because bats have a low reproductive rate. Most
bats raise one pup per year. It will take decades for bat
populations to rebound after a large die-off.”
Al Hicks, of New York’s Environmental Conservation Department,
was the first New Yorker to study the issue. Ironically, he
came into this issue attempting to delist a species called
pink-nosed bats. Now, though, he says, “If we assume only 50
percent decline at the new sites, we are talking hundreds of
thousands of bats that could die.” New York has seen at least
one bat cave’s population crash by 90% this winter.
Conclusion
Once again, we’re seeing the results of arrogance in ignoring
nature’s balance. In thinking that we can do it better than
nature, the result is devastation. Whether it’s pesticides or
something else wrought by behavior that results from short-term
profit-oriented thinking, rather than concern for the planet
that has nurtured us, the bats are under threat. Whether it’s
the loss of bees or bats or some other creature or plant, in
the end, we lose, too. Ultimately, the lesson that Mother
Nature cannot be fooled will be learned. Will it require the
extinction of humans?
About the author
Heidi Stevenson
Fellow, British Institute of Homeopathy
Gaia Therapy (http://www.gaia-therapy.com)
The author is a homeopath who became concerned with medically-
induced harm as a result of her own experiences and those of
family members. She says that allopathic medicine is the arena
that best describes the motto, “Buyer beware.”
Posted in Environmental issues | Tagged: bats, bees, disease, environment | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Jonathan Chamberlain on May 1, 2008
“Two to 4% of cancers respond to chemotherapy….The bottom line is for a few kinds of cancer chemo is a life extending procedure—Hodgkin’s disease, Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL), Testicular cancer, and Choriocarcinoma.”—-Ralph Moss, Ph.D. 1995 Author of Questioning Chemotherapy.
“NCI now actually anticipates further increases, and not decreases, in cancer mortality rates, from 171/100,000 in 1984 to 175/100,000 by the year 2000!”–Samuel Epstein.
“A study of over 10,000 patients shows clearly that chemo’s supposedly strong track record with Hodgkin’s disease (lymphoma) is actually a lie. Patients who underwent chemo were 14 times more likely to develop leukemia and 6 times more likely to develop cancers of the bones, joints, and soft tissues than those patients who did not undergo chemotherapy (NCI Journal 87:10).”-John Diamond
Children who are successfully treated for Hodgkin’s disease are 18 times more likely later to develop secondary malignant tumours. Girls face a 35 per cent chance of developing breast cancer by the time they are 40—-which is 75 times greater than the average. The risk of leukemia increased markedly four years after the ending of successful treatment, and reached a plateau after 14 years, but the risk of developing solid tumours remained high and approached 30 per cent at 30 years (New Eng J Med, March 21, 1996)
“Success of most chemotherapy is appalling…There is no scientific evidence for its ability to extend in any appreciable way the lives of patients suffering from the most common organic cancer…chemotherapy for malignancies too advanced for surgery which accounts for 80% of all cancers is a scientific wasteland.”—Dr Ulrich Abel. 1990
The New England Journal of Medicine Reports- War on Cancer Is a Failure: Despite $30 billion spent on research and treatments since 1970, cancer remains “undefeated,” with a death rate not lower but 6% higher in 1997 than 1970, stated John C. Bailar III, M.D., Ph.D., and Heather L. Gornik, M.H.S., both of the Department of Health Studies at the University of Chicago in Illinois. “The war against cancer is far from over,” stated Dr. Bailar. “The effect of new treatments for cancer on mortality has been largely disappointing.”
“My studies have proved conclusively that untreated cancer victims live up to four times longer than treated individuals. If one has cancer and opts to do nothing at all, he will live longer and feel better than if he undergoes radiation, chemotherapy or surgery, other than when used in immediate life-threatening situations.”—Prof Jones. (1956 Transactions of the N.Y. Academy of Medical Sciences, vol 6. There is a fifty page article by Hardin Jones of National Cancer Institute of Bethesda, Maryland. He surveyed global cancer of all types and compared the untreated and the treated, to conclude that the untreated outlives the treated, both in terms of quality and in terms of quantity. Secondly he said, “Cancer does not cure”. Third he said “There is a physiological mechanism which finishes off an individual”.)
“With some cancers, notably liver, lung, pancreas, bone and advanced breast, our 5 year survival from traditional therapy alone is virtually the same as it was 30 years ago.”—P Quillin, Ph.D.
“1.7% increase in terms of success rate a year, its nothing. By the time we get to the 24 century we might have effective treatments, Star Trek will be long gone by that time.” Ralph Moss.
“….chemotherapy’s success record is dismal. It can achieve remissions in about 7% of all human cancers; for an additional 15% of cases, survival can be “prolonged” beyond the point at which death would be expected without treatment. This type of survival is not the same as a cure or even restored quality of life.”-John Diamond, M.D.
“Keep in mind that the 5 year mark is still used as the official guideline for “cure” by mainstream oncologists. Statistically, the 5 year cure makes chemotherapy look good for certain kinds of cancer, but when you follow cancer patients beyond 5 years, the reality often shifts in a dramatic way.”-Diamond.
Studies show that women taking tamoxifen after surviving breast cancer then have a high propensity to develop endometrial cancer. The NCI and Zeneca Pharmaceuticals, which makes the drug, aggressively lobbied State of California regulators to keep them from adding tamoxifen to their list of carcinogens. Zeneca is one of the sponsors of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
“Most cancer patients in this country die of chemotherapy…Chemotherapy does not eliminate breast, colon or lung cancers. This fact has been documented for over a decade. Yet doctors still use chemotherapy for these tumours…Women with breast cancer are likely to die faster with chemo than without it.”-Alan Levin, M.D.
According to the Cancer Statistics for 1995, published by the ACS in their small journal (2), the 5-year survival rate has improved from 50%-56% for whites and 39%-40% for blacks from 1974/1976 – 1983/1990. However, the data is taken from FIVE of the states with the lowest death rates AND the smallest populations! NONE of the 10 states with the highest death rates AND comprising 34% of the Total U.S. Cancer Deaths, were included in the data! Also, in prior years, the Composite (Ave.) 5-year survival rate for ALL Cancers Combined was computed and published. This Ave. 5-year survival crept upward to 50%, in the early nineties. It now stands around 51-52%, due primarily to the improvement of 11% survival for Colon and 13% increased survival for Prostate. It gets worse. The ACS boasts of “statistically significant” results when Uterine Ca survival drops from 89%/60%-85%/55% (W/B)?? Also, Pancreas Ca is 3-3 
and Laryngeal Ca survival drops from 59%-53% (B) while Cervical Ca drops from 63%-56% (B). Liver Ca improves from 4%-7%. I wonder how many Pancreatic and Hepatic Ca patients cheered these dramatic results? Ovarian Ca = 36%/40% – 42%/38% (W/B) and Breast Ca = 75%/63% – 82%/66% (W/B). In 16 years the Breast Ca rate improved 3-7%, while Uterine Ca decreased 4-5%. Aren’t these marvelous results that the Cancer Establishment should boast about??—-RD Hodgell, M.D.
“The five year cancer survival statistics of the American Cancer Society are very misleading. They now count things that are not cancer, and, because we are able to diagnose at an earlier stage of the disease, patients falsely appear to live longer. Our whole cancer research in the past 20 years has been a failure. More people over 30 are dying from cancer than ever before…More women with mild or benign diseases are being included in statistics and reported as being “cured”. When government officials point to survival figures and say they are winning the war against cancer they are using those survival rates improperly.”—Dr J. Bailer, New England Journal of Medicine (Dr Bailer’s answer to questions put by Neal Barnard MD of the Physicians Committee For Responsible Medicine and published in PCRM Update, sept/oct 1990.
“I look upon cancer in the same way that I look upon heart disease, arthritis, high blood pressure, or even obesity, for that matter, in that by dramatically strengthening the body’s immune system through diet, nutritional supplements, and exercise, the body can rid itself of the cancer, just as it does in other degenerative diseases. Consequently, I wouldn’t have chemotherapy and radiation because I’m not interested in therapies that cripple the immune system, and, in my opinion, virtually ensure failure for the majority of cancer patients.”—Dr Julian Whitaker, M.D.
“Finding a cure for cancer is absolutely contraindicated by the profits of the cancer industry’s chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery cash trough.”-Dr Diamond, M.D.
“We have a multi-billion dollar industry that is killing people, right and left, just for financial gain. Their idea of research is to see whether two doses of this poison is better than three doses of that poison.”-Glen Warner, M.D. oncologist.
John Robbins:
“If you can shrink the tumour 50% or more for 28 days you have got the FDA’s definition of an active drug. That is called a response rate, so you have a response..(but) when you look to see if there is any life prolongation from taking this treatment what you find is all kinds of hocus pocus and song and dance about the disease free survival, and this and that. In the end there is no proof that chemotherapy in the vast majority of cases actually extends life, and this is the GREAT LIE about chemotherapy, that somehow there is a correlation between shrinking a tumour and extending the life of the patient.”—Ralph Moss
“The majority of publications equate the effect of chemotherapy with (tumour) response, irrespective of survival. Many oncologists take it for granted that response to therapy prolongs survival, an opinion which is based on a fallacy and which is not supported by clinical studies. To date there is no clear evidence that the treated patients, as a whole, benefit from chemotherapy as to their quality of life.”—Abel.1990.
“For the majority of the cancers we examined, the actual improvements (in survival) have been small or have been overestimated by the published rates…It is difficult to find that there has been much progress…(For breast cancer), there is a slight improvement…(which) is considerably less than reported.”—General Accounting Office
“As a chemist trained to interpret data, it is incromprehensible to me that physicians can ignore the clear evidence that chemotherapy does much, much more harm than good.”—Alan Nixon, Ph.D., Past President, American Chemical Society.
“He said, “I’m giving cancer patients over here at this major cancer clinic drugs that are killing them, and I can’t stop it because they say the protocol’s what’s important.” And I say, “But the patient’s not doing well.” They say, “The protocol’s what’s important, not the patient.” And he said, “You can’t believe what goes on in the name of medicine and science in this country.” –Gary Null
The Politics of Cancer—Epstein
That in spite of over $20 billion expenditures since the “War against Cancer” was launched by President Nixon in 1971, there has been little if any significant improvement in treatment and survival rates for most common cancers, in spite of contrary misleading hype by the cancer establishment—the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and American Cancer Society (ACS).
That the cancer establishment remains myopically fixated on damage control _diagnosis and treatment _ and basic genetic research, with, not always benign, indifference to cancer prevention. Meanwhile, the incidence of cancer, including nonsmoking cancers, has escalated to epidemic proportions with lifetime cancer risks now approaching 50%.
That the NCI has a long track record of budgetary shell games in efforts to mislead Congress and the public with its claim that it allocates substantial resources to cancer prevention. Over the last year, the NCI has made a series of widely divergent claims, ranging from $480 million to $1 billion, for its prevention budget while realistic estimates are well under $100 million.
That the NCI allocates less than 1% of its budget to research on occupational cancer _ the most avoidable of all cancers _ which accounts for well over 10% of all adult cancer deaths, besides being a major cause of childhood cancer.
That cancer establishment policies, particularly those of the ACS, are strongly influenced by pervasive conflicts of interest with the cancer drug and other industries. As admitted by former NCI director Samuel Broder, the NCI has become “what amounts to a governmental pharmaceutical company.”
That the MD Anderson Comprehensive Cancer Center was sued in August, 1998 for making unsubstantiated claims that it cures “well over 50% of people with cancer.”
That the NCI, with enthusiastic support from the ACS _ the tail that wags the NCI dog _ has effectively blocked funding for research and clinical trials on promising non-toxic alternative cancer drugs for decades, in favor of highly toxic and largely ineffective patented drugs developed by the multibillion dollar global cancer drug industry. Additionally, the cancer establishment has systematically harassed the proponents of non-toxic alternative cancer drugs.
That, as reported in The Chronicle of Philanthropy, the ACS is “more interested in accumulating wealth than saving lives.” Furthermore, it is the only known “charity” that makes contributions to political parties.
That the NCI and ACS have embarked on unethical trials with two hormonal drugs, tamoxifen and Evista, in ill-conceived attempts to prevent breast cancer in healthy women while suppressing evidence that these drugs are known to cause liver and ovarian cancer, respectively, and in spite of the short-term lethal complications of tamoxifen. The establishment also proposes further chemoprevention trials this fall on tamoxifen, and also Evista, in spite of two published long-term European studies on the ineffectiveness of tamoxifen. This represents medical malpractice verging on the criminal.
That the ACS and NCI have failed to provide Congress and regulatory agencies with available scientific information on a wide range of unwitting exposures to avoidable carcinogens in air, water, the workplace, and consumer products suchfood, cosmetics and toiletries, and household products. As a result, corrective legislative and regulatory action have not been taken.
That the cancer establishment has also failed to provide the public, particularly African American and underprivileged ethnic groups with their disproportionately higher cancer incidence rates, with information on avoidable carcinogenic exposures, thus depriving them of their right-to-know and effectively preventing them from taking action to protect themselves _ a flagrant denial of environmental justice.
Posted in Cancer Perspectives, Supporting chemo | Tagged: cancer, chemotherapy | 3 Comments »
Posted by Jonathan Chamberlain on May 1, 2008
SPINAL THERAPY & MASSAGE
http://users. mrbean.net. au/~wlast/ spinaltherapy. html
by Walter Last
There is a reflex connection between every organ system and the spine. The
malfunction of an organ will produce tension in a specific part of the spine,
while a misalignment of the spine will cause tension in a specific organ.
Additionally, various acupressure- points along the inner branch of the bladder
meridian, close to the spine, are linked to specific organs. Furthermore, on both
sides of each vertebra, less than one inch from the midline, are ‘extra’
acupuncture- points not included in the meridian system, but generally related to
certain regions of the body. Press along both sides of the spine and especially
where you encounter any tender points.
Massage
A spinal massage is best given as part of an overall body or back massage.
For an initial general massage you may or may not use massage oil. It is helpful
to know special massage techniques, but not essential for home practice
simply rub, stroke and knead as it comes naturally. A caring attitude during
massage is more important than technique. Start by giving attention to the feet.
Glide slowly downward with your thumbs on each side of the spine (fingers or
the knuckles may be used as well). Press reasonably hard for a moment then
glide to the next vertebra, basically along the inner bladder meridian.
When a sore spot is encountered, ease the pressure, and press for several
minutes with a slightly circular motion. Increase the pressure when the pain
subsides. Repeat this several times, gliding down the spine, pausing at tender
areas. Moving back from the base of the spine to the neck, press with the base of
the palm, supported by the other hand, along the tops of the vertebrae.
Other points in need of special attention are the base of the skull, neck,
shoulder, the tops and centers of the shoulder blades; the buttocks, the hips
and the back of each knee.
Another technique to treat tender points along the spine is to apply a
constant moderate finger pressure on each tender spot for about 90 seconds. Direct
the pressure against the spine, and simultaneously raise the opposite body side
of the patient against the pressure. This is done to relax the treated muscle
and, in doing so, to ease any pain caused by a strong pressure.
When treating the upper part of the spine, the shoulder is lifted; when
treating the lower part, the hip is raised. On the neck, move the head against the
finger pressure. The patient should remain completely passive during the
treatment and should not try to help move any body part.
Apply an overall massage and pressure massage once a week, best after a bath
or shower. This is an excellent exercise for developing a harmonious
relationship with a friend or partner. When using long strokes during massaging, try to
follow the flow directions of the meridians.
Massage Oils
Massage oils are commonly used to let the hands glide over the skin in long
strokes. However, with pressure therapy, deep muscle work and for feeling the
energies it is often better not to oil the skin. Massage oils may also be
selected according to the specific needs of the massaged person. Edgar Cayce
(American medical psychic) has left us the following recommendations.
GENERAL TONIC MASSAGE – Peanut oil 6 parts, olive oil 2 parts, dissolved
lanolin 1 part, rosewater 2 parts; shake well before use.
.
PEANUT OIL &
OLIVE OIL MIXTURE – 2 parts of each and 1 part dissolved lanolin; this is good
for arthritis and rheumatism, after-effects of anesthesia, injuries from
accidents, kidney disorders, menopausal complaints, multiple sclerosis, prostatitis
and toxemia.
PEANUT OIL ALONE – For apoplexy, arthritis, cholecystitis, coronary
occlusion, fatigue, glandular disturbances, low vitality, menopause, multiple
sclerosis, palsy, paralysis, Parkinson’s disease, polio, poor circulation, ulcerated
stomach. Preferably heat the body with an infrared lamp or by exposing it to
sunshine during and after the oil rub.
CASTOR OIL ALONE – For arthritis, back pain, contractions and spasms,
rheumatism and all muscular and joint pains. Rub very warm castor oil into the
affected parts, preferably using an infrared lamp or sunshine to work it into the
skin.
REMOVAL OF SCAR TISSUE – Combine 1-2 parts camphorated oil with I part peanut
oil; massage into the scar tissue for several months. Alternatively or in
addition use vitamin E oil.
COCOA BUTTER – Stimulates the circulation in massaged areas, and strengthens
the nervous system and eliminating functions. It is especially useful for
massaging babies and young children gently along the spine. It helps body
development and guards against head congestions. For increasing the size of
underdeveloped breasts, massage around the glands under the arms and below the breasts.
Direct massage of breasts with cocoa butter combined with alum water has been
recommended by Edgar Cayce to decrease their size. You may use melted cocoa
butter on its own or as part of a massage-oil mixture. To increase breast size
also see breasts.html http://users. mrbean.net. au/~wlast/ breasts.html
In addition, you may add various aromatic oils either just for their
fragrance or for any additional healing effect. The olive oil should be extra-virgin
and the peanut oil cold-pressed, both having been stored in a cool and dark
place. You may also squeeze some vitamin E oil capsules into the massage oil. A
small amount of the oil may be lightly warmed before applying it to the body. I
am not in favour of using polyunsaturated oils as massage oils as these
become easily rancid.
Muscle Pain
Muscle pain is commonly due to a contracted or spastic muscle. This may
generate pain from pressure on a nerve or from an inflammatory condition resulting
from overacidity. The original cause may be an injury or overuse of the
muscle. This causes a lactic acid accumulation in the muscle, which prevents calcium
from moving out of the muscle fibers to allow them to relax. The blood and
lymph circulation through the contracted muscle is greatly diminished.
Therefore, lactic acid is removed very slowly and oxygen supply to the muscle is rather
low.
With this, any further use of this muscle generates more lactic acid and
keeps it contracted and either weak or painful. If this condition becomes
permanent, then the area gradually tends to calcify, such as two vertebrae fusing
together or a joint becoming immobile. The solution is to use suitable therapies
to relax this muscle and increase the blood and lymph flow through this area.
The first thing to try is a period of rest to allow the lactic acid to
disperse. Heat such as a hot pack or bath or rub greatly speed up this process.
Using additional Epsom salt or magnesium chloride aids muscle relaxation by
displacing some of the calcium in the muscle with magnesium. Adding baking soda to a
bath or pack helps by reducing the overacidity of the muscle. Magnesium as
well as an alkalizer may in addition be used internally. MSM internally as well
as externally speeds up these processes.
A quick but also painful way to relax a tense muscle is to press right into
it for several minutes. In addition or instead of this a deep muscle massage
greatly speeds up lymph and blood flow through the muscle, pressing, kneading
and rubbing the area. Color therapy with blue light, the south pole of a magnet,
reflexology, acupuncture and meridian therapy may all be used in difficult
cases as supportive measures.
Spinal Correction
Frequently, health problems are intensified by a misalignment of the spine.
Hereditary factors, incompatible food and negative or suppressed feelings will
cause organ and gland functions to become overactive or under-active. This in
turn weakens or tenses muscles in associated reflex areas of the back. The
same may happen because of one-sided strenuous muscle activity. This causes an
uneven pull of muscles on the spine, and individual vertebrae can easily become
misaligned, causing pressure on nerves emerging from the spine and consequent
pain or malfunction.
Therefore, most people with health problems will benefit from an initial
professional adjustment of the spine. However, if the muscles are not balanced
simultaneously, the correction will not last and you may become a regular
customer of a chiropractor. This, of course, is not necessary. You may either see an
osteopath or a chiropractor who does muscle balancing as well. Furthermore,
working with a friend, you can easily balance each other.
For backache, first find out, by pressing, which side of the back is more
tender. Frequently trace the bladder meridian of the tender side with a
south-pole magnet (or the fingers) from toe to head. Trace the bladder meridian on the
other side from head to toe with a north-pole magnet. For neck problems also
the gall bladder meridian should be retraced in the same way.
In addition, apply ear acupuncture, and reflexology, and a strong south-pole
magnet to the painful area. Finally press into the tender muscle until the
pain eases, then press harder and circle the thumb, knuckle or elbow with which
the pressure is applied. Check for other tender points in the same area and
work these out in the same way. Often misaligned vertebrae will then realign
themselves during subsequent back-stretching exercises or with the head-and-neck
exercise.
As a general rule, neck and shoulders are affected by the gall bladder, upper
back by the lungs and heart, the middle by the stomach and pancreas, the
lower end of the ribcage by the kidneys and the lower back by the intestines.
Liver problems often manifest as a pain near the lower right shoulder blade. Treat
implicated organs with other suitable methods.
If the spine of the partner or patient has not been injured, you may
occasionally place your hands, facing in opposite directions, on both sides of the
spine and press down for a moment with a twisting or turning motion. Start at the
lower back and gradually move towards the neck. The patient should lie on a
reasonably hard surface and exhale with the downward pressure.
Then you do it from the other side and twist in the opposite direction.
Sometimes you may hear a vertebra jump back into place. Adjust the pressure
sensibly according to the condition of the patient. As a variation of this method,
you may carefully walk along the spine of a robustly built partner.
One of the best methods for back improvement is regularly hanging
upside-down, from either special inversion equipment or a ladder. Traction on the neck
improves the upper spine.
Spinal Concussion
This is an effective method for stimulating and strengthening weak organs and
body parts. The general principle is to stimulate the nerves emerging from
the spine with rapid soft taps to certain vertebrae. If the patient is bony, or
if you use a small rubber hammer, you may put a folded towel over the area to
be treated. You may use the edge of the hand or the knuckles to tap the
selected vertebra rapidly (but not very hard) for about 30 seconds. Then rest or
treat another vertebra for 30 seconds and return to the first vertebra. Repeat
this process for about five to eight minutes.
For general health improvement, you may go up the whole length of the spine
and stimulate each vertebra in turn for about 30 seconds. You may tap firmly at
the lower spine but only lightly at the neck. Let your patient or partner
tell you how hard to tap so that it feels invigorating and pleasant. For serious
problems this treatment may be repeated daily, otherwise once a week or when
feasible. If tapping produces pain, professional advice should be sought.
If sedation rather than stimulation is required, try prolonged
pressure, gradually varying in intensity, on the appropriate vertebra. Select
suitable vertebrae from the following compilation.
Vertebrae selection
Cervical
1 head, brain, pituitary, sympathetic nervous system
2 eyes, tongue, hearing problems, sinuses, allergies, fainting
2-3 for headaches: prolonged pressure between C2 and C3
3 cheeks, teeth, outer ear, acne, eczema, neuralgia, neuritis
4 nose, lips, mouth, Eustachian tube, catarrh, hayfever
5 vocal cords, neck glands, throat problems, pharynx
6 neck muscles, shoulders, tonsils, upper arm
7 thyroid, goiter, shoulders, elbows, bursitis, nose bleeding, fainting;
contracts inner organs, contracts dilated heart, normalizes blood pressure,
angina, palpitation and tachycardia (fast pulse), lung and kidney diseases,
diabetes.
C7 is the most prominent vertebra at the base of the neck; use it as a
landmark for counting the other vertebrae along the spine.
Dorsal or thoracic
1 lower arms, hands, esophagus, trachea, asthma, cough, breathing problems,
thymus
2 heart, coronary arteries, lungs, chest pain
2-3 for hiccough: press between D2 and D3
3 lungs, breasts, increases milk flow; contracts gall bladder, esophagus and
pylorus; dilates heart and peripheral vessels, reduces blood pressure
3-4 tap both for developing breasts
4 contracts and empties gall bladder, increases secretions of pancreas;
jaundice, hepatitis, shingles
5 liver, solar plexus, low blood pressure, poor circulation, anemia; opens
pylorus and empties stomach
6 stomach, indigestion, heartburn, dyspepsia
6, 7 tapping both dilates kidneys, nephritis
7 pancreas, duodenum, diabetes, ulcers, gastritis
8 spleen, diaphragm, hiccoughs
9 adrenals, allergies, dilates gall bladder, biliary colic
10 kidneys, nephritis, dilates pancreas and blood vessels, reduces blood
pressure; ataxia, anemia
11 kidneys, urethra; dilates heart, stomach, liver, spleen, abdominal
arteries, intestines, increases blood supply to lungs; spasms, nervous diarrhea,
angina, skin problems
12 small intestines, Fallopian tubes, lymph circulation, enlarged prostate,
contracts kidneys
Lumbar vertebrae
1 large intestines: constipation, diarrhea, colitis, hernia
2 appendix, abdomen, upper leg, cramps, varicose veins
3 sex organs, ovaries or testicles, bladder, knee, menstrual problems,
impotence, bed wetting
1-3 contracts stomach, intestines, liver, spleen, uterus
4 prostate, lower back muscles, sciatic nerve, lumbago, backaches; difficult,
painful or too frequent urination
5 lower legs, feet, leg cramps, cold feet, contracts bladder
Sacrum: hipbones, buttocks, sacro-iliac conditions
Coccyx: rectum, anus, hemorrhoids, pruritus.
Energy-distribution Massage
This method for balancing the bio-energy of the body was developed by Gerda,
Mona-Lisa and Ebba Boyesen. As a result of unreleased emotions, the energy
flow in the unhealthy, neurotic body (that is, in most of us) usually runs too
much upward and inward. In addition, there is an excessive accumulation of
pathological energy in general, a deficiency of vital energy, and an
‘ungroundedness’ .
In addition to the removal of excess energy and the energy distribution
between over-energetic and under-energetic areas, a main aim of this treatment is
the re-establishment of normal psycho-peristalsis. (Peristalsis means the
wavelike contractions of the intestines by means of which food and waste are moved
through the digestive tract.) In the healthy person, any excess of nervous
energy will be discharged through increased peristaltic movements of the small
intestine. This can be heard with a stethoscope or by placing an ear against the
abdomen. The normal, harmonious sound is like a ‘running brook’. If there are
spasmodic movements, the sounds may be ‘explosive’ or like ‘rolling thunder’,
and so on. If psycho-peristalsis is absent, there will be silence inside. Of
course, there should be no effects from a previous meal when you are testing.
The general massage movements are smooth strokes, starting at the head and
working downward. The aim is to establish a contact between the energy in the
hand of the therapist and the energy congestions of the patient and in this way
to lead the energy down. Another massage direction is from die midline to the
sides and, finally, from the inside to the surface. This energy is led
outwards by a succession of three strokes, the first very firm to connect with the
energy at the bone level, the second moderately firm to connect with the muscle
energy, and the third very light, sometimes even above the skin level.
While in some patients an excess of energy has to be released through the
skin and the feet, in others sealing of the aura to prevent excessive leaking of
energy is required.
The most important parts to massage and free for the flow of energies are the
narrowings, such as the neck, waist, wrists, ankles; joints; and edges, as
along the eye sockets, nose, chin, tops of shoulders and bottom of the ribcage.
The therapist is guided during the massage work continually by the peristaltic
sounds to which he or she listens through a stethoscope with an extra-long
tube. In addition, he or she may be able to feel the energy flows of the patient
and act accordingly.
Lymph-drainage Massage
This technique was developed by E. Vodder. It is designed to improve the
lymph flows, accelerating the transport of waste products from the tissues into
the bloodstream, from where it can be eliminated through the kidneys. A
congested and stagnating lymphatic system is a main cause of infections, inflammations
and degenerative diseases.
The lymph flows upward through the legs to the large lymph nodes at the groin
and up the arms to the main lymph nodes at the armpits. From the groin and
abdomen, the lymph collects in the thoracic duct, which flows along the midline
of the body and empties, together with the lymph from the upper left side of
the body, into a large vein under the left collarbone. The lymph from the upper
right side of the body joins a vein under the right collarbone.
Any lymph massage should start and end with the chain of glands at the sides
of the neck running from below the ears to the hollows of the collarbones. For
massaging the limbs, use light, slow, circular movements with the four
fingers of the hand. Movement may be clockwise or anti-clockwise, whatever feels
better, but do not change direction during the massage. The skin should be moved
lightly over the underlying tissue. Generally, five circles are made at any
one place, one circle per second. Vary the finger pressure during the circling
to achieve a pumping effect. Then move about two inches along the limb and
repeat the circling. During massage a limb should be raised, while well supported
and relaxed, to help the backward flow of the lymph.
To massage the arms, circle first ten times at the armpits, then at the
insides of the elbows, and finally from the palms upward to the armpits. The legs,
similarly, are started at the groin, then the backs of the knees and finally
from the feet upward to the groin.
Along the trunk, from the groin upward, you may use long, firm upward strokes
towards the left collarbone, and also along the spine and the sides of the
back.
However, the main benefit for the trunk lymph drainage will be derived if the
patient lies on his or her back and makes bicycling movements in the air. The
movements must be either parallel to the floor or, better still, vertical
while in the shoulder-stand position. In between positions are not effective. Do
this exercise for about one minute before and after leg-drainage massage to
make room in the trunk for lymph from the legs. Varicose veins should not be
massaged.
An alternative drainage of the limbs may be achieved by encircling the limb
with both hands and moving them in opposite direction in what is commonly
called ‘Chinese burns’. However, in this case the action should be rather gentle
and move in small steps from the wrist or ankles towards the trunk.
Posted in Cancer Perspectives | Tagged: cancer, cure, healing, massage | 2 Comments »
Posted by Jonathan Chamberlain on May 1, 2008
Message of Domingo Richardo warning of potential danger of DCA
http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Dichloroacetic_ acid
Potential cancer applications
Cancer cells generally use glycolysis
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Glycolysis> rather than oxidation
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Oxidation> for energy (the Warburg effect
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Warburg_effect>), as a result of hypoxia
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Ischemia> in tumors
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Tumor> and damaged mitochondria. ^[8]
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Dichloroacetic_ acid#_note- 2> The body
often kills damaged cells by apoptosis
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Apoptosis>, a mechanism of
self-destruction that involves mitochondria, but this mechanism fails in
cancer <http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Cancer> cells.
A study published in January 2007 by researchers at the University of
Alberta <http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ University_ of_Alberta>,^[9]
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Dichloroacetic_ acid#_note- 3> testing DCA
on /in vitro <http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ In_vitro>/ cancer cell lines
and a rat model, found that DCA restored mitochondrial function, thus
restoring apoptosis, killing cancer cells /in vitro/, and shrinking the
tumors in the rats.^[10]
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Dichloroacetic_ acid#_note- bonnet2007>
These results received extensive media attention, beginning with an
article in /New Scientist <http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ New_Scientist>/
entitled “Cheap, Safe Drug Kills Most Cancers”.^[11]
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Dichloroacetic_ acid#_note- newscientist>
Subsequently, the American Cancer Society
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ American_ Cancer_Society> and other medical
organizations have received a large volume of public interest and
questions regarding DCA.^[12]
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Dichloroacetic_ acid#_note- abcnews> Reports
have since pointed out that although the study results are promising, no
clinical trials in humans with cancer have yet been conducted,
emphasizing the need for caution in interpreting the preliminary
results.^[12]
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Dichloroacetic_ acid#_note- abcnews> ^[13]
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Dichloroacetic_ acid#_note- nowonderdrug> No
data from clinical trials <http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Clinical_ trial>
is available yet.
The New Scientist later editorialized, “The drug may yet live up to its
promise as an anti-cancer agent – clinical trials are expected to start
soon. It may even spawn an entirely new class of anti-cancer drugs. For
now, however, it remains experimental, never yet properly tested in a
person with cancer. People who self-administer the drug are taking a
very long shot and, unlikely as it may sound, could even make their
health worse.”^[14]
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Dichloroacetic_ acid#_note- 4>
The historical likelihood that a promising agent in pre-clinical (i.e.,
cell-line killing) experiments will become an effective human cancer
drug is 5%,^[/citation needed/]
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Wikipedia: Citing_sources> and the
likelihood of an FDA approval for any given drug entering Phase I
testing is reportedly 8-11%.^[15]
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Dichloroacetic_ acid#_note- 5> ^[16]
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Dichloroacetic_ acid#_note- 6> Arguably, DCA
may never need additional Phase 1 testing (e.g. for dosages and their
safety, not for the efficacy of the drug), if the results from previous
studies, which tested dosages for toxicity in patients with metabolic
disorders, are acceptable to the FDA or equivalent organizations in
other countries. As of April 2007, DCA has passed phase 1 trials and can
enter directly phase 2 trials in patients with cancer.
DCA is a non-patentable compound. Concerns have therefore been raised
that without pharmaceutical industry
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Pharmaceutical_ industry> interest, trials
of DCA may not be funded.^[12]
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Dichloroacetic_ acid#_note- abcnews> ^[11]
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Dichloroacetic_ acid#_note- newscientist>
^[13]
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Dichloroacetic_ acid#_note- nowonderdrug>
^[17] <http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Dichloroacetic_ acid#_note- express>
However, other sources of funding exist; previous studies of DCA have
been funded by government organizations such as the National Institutes
of Health <http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ National_ Institutes_ of_Health>,
the Food and Drug Administration
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Food_and_ Drug_Administrat ion>, the
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Canadian_ Institutes_ of_Health_ Research>
and by private charities (e.g. the Muscular Dystrophy Association
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Muscular_ Dystrophy_ Association>).
Adverse effects
Reports in the lay press after the 2007 University of Alberta
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ University_ of_Alberta> announcement claim
that dichloroacetate “has actually been used safely in humans for
decades”,^[18]
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Dichloroacetic_ acid#_note- DCA_Cancer_ 2>
but the limited scholarly literature suggests side effects of pain,
numbness and gait <http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Gait_%28human% 29>
disturbances in some patients.^[18]
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Dichloroacetic_ acid#_note- DCA_Cancer_ 2> A
clinical trial where DCA was given to patients of MELAS
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ MELAS> (a form of genetically inherited
lactic acidosis <http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Lactic_acidosis>) at 25
mg/kg/day was ended prematurely due to excessive peripheral nerve
toxicity.^[19]
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Dichloroacetic_ acid#_note- 7>
Dichloroacetate can also have anxiolytic
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Anxiolytic> or sedative
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Sedation> effects.^[20]
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Dichloroacetic_ acid#_note- 8>
Animal studies suggest that the neuropathy
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Neuropathy> and neurotoxicity
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Neurotoxicity> during chronic
dichloroacetate treatment may be partly due to depletion of thiamine
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Thiamine>, and thiamine supplementation in
rats reduced these effects.^[21]
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Dichloroacetic_ acid#_note- 9> However, more
recent studies in humans suggest that peripheral neuropathy is a common
side effect during chronic DCA treatment, even with coadministration of
oral thiamine.^[22]
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Dichloroacetic_ acid#_note- 10> ^[23]
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Dichloroacetic_ acid#_note- 11> An
additional study reported that 50 mg/kg/day DCA treatment resulted in
unsteady gait and lethargy in two patients, with symptoms occurring
after one month for one patient and two months for the second. Gait
disturbance and consciousness were recovered with cessation of DCA,
however sensory nerve <http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Sensory_nerve>
action potentials <http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Action_potential> did
not recover in one month.^[24]
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Dichloroacetic_ acid#_note- 12>
[edit
<http://en.wikipedia .org/w/index. php?title= Dichloroacetic_ acid&action= edit§ion= 6>]
Self-medication
Doctors warned of potential problems if people attempt to try DCA
outside a controlled clinical trial
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Clinical_ trial>. “If it starts going
badly, who is following you before it gets out of control? By the time
you realize your liver is failing, you’re in big trouble,” said Laura
Shanner, Associate professor of health ethics at the University of
Alberta.^[25] <http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Dichloroacetic_ acid#_note- 13>
The most prominent web site promoting self-medication with DCA is
thedcasite.com <http://thedcasite. com>, according to the New
Scientist.^[ 26]
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Dichloroacetic_ acid#_note- 14> The site was
founded by Jim Tassano, who operates a pest-control company in Sonora,
California, and also founded another site, which offers to sell DCA for
treatment of cancer “in animals.” Because DCA has not been approved for
human use, it is illegal for a web site to sell it for human or animal
consumption in the US, said special agent Phil Walsky of the US Food and
Drug Administration’ s Office of Criminal Investigations, which is
investigating the two sites. DCA has never been approved for veterinary
use either. Sigma-Aldrich <http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Sigma-Aldrich>
recently restricted sales of DCA. However, DCA is a widely used
laboratory chemical that can be ordered from thousands of companies.
Studies of the trichloroethylene
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Trichloroethylen e> (TCE) metabolites
dichloroacetic acid (DCA), trichloroacetic acid
<http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Trichloroacetic_ acid> (TCA) , and chloral
hydrate <http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Chloral_hydrate> suggest that both
DCA and TCA are involved in TCE-induced liver tumorigenesis and that
many DCA effects are consistent with conditions that increase the risk
of liver cancer <http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Liver_cancer> in humans.
^[27] <http://en.wikipedia .org/wiki/ Dichloroacetic_ acid#_note->
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Jonathan Chamberlain on May 1, 2008
There’s really a lot of info on this site so do browse. This supports and extends the info and critical discussion in my two cancer books. For more information go to www.fightingcancer.com
“This book tells me everything. Why didn’t my doctor tell me this?”- Rev. Bill Newbern
BIOPSY INFORMATION
FAQ Biopsies
http://www.breastca ncerchoices. org/faqbiopsies. html
Link to Biopsy Medical Articles
http://www.breastca ncerchoices. org/medartbiopsy .html
After being screened for breast cancer, a suspicious lump has been found.
How is the lump biopsied?
Primarily, there are three ways to biopsy a suspicious lump:
(1) fine needle biopsy (FNA),
(2) large gauge needle (core) biopsy, and
(3) excisional biopsy during which the whole lump is surgically removed.
I have just had a mammogram and my doctor sees a suspicious mass in my
breast. My doctor has suggested a needle biopsy.
Is there any downside to this procedure?
Background:
Needle biopsies pierce the suspicious breast mass to draw out tissue for
analysis.
Some researchers fear these procedures may spread (or seed) the cancer,
causing something called “needle track metastasis.” Others feel this possibility is
not a
significant concern or that the immune system, surgery and/or radiation that
follows will
clean up the area. Each individual must review the information that is
presented in this
BIOPSY section with her doctor and decide for herself whether or not to
undergo these procedures.
Hot News:
In June 2004, the results of the bombshell Hansen study, “Manipulation of The
Primary Breast Tumor and The Incidence of Sentinel Node Metastases From
Invasive Breast Cancer,” were published in the American Medical Association‘ s
prestigious journal, Archives of Surgery, revealing that patients undergoing fine
needle biopsies were 50% more likely to have micrometastases spread to the
sentinel lymph node than those patients having the entire tumor removed for
biopsy.
The implication of this discovery is that a woman without lymph node
involvement, who
would have been staged at a low level, now will be staged higher,her disease
considered more advanced, and more aggressive treatment might be
recommended.
Over the years, several researchers have voiced serious reservations about
routine
needle biopsies, but they were mostly ignored by their colleagues. Hansen’s
research team cited their predecessors, and the research path leads back
several decades. It’s hard to understand why The Archives of Surgery study, which
embodies all of these reservations about needle biopsies, didn’t make the front
page of the New York Times.
Cancer authority, Ralph Moss, comments in his February 6th, 2005 Moss Reports
Newsletter:
“Imagine the outrage these patients will feel when they learn that many of
these sentinel node metastases were caused not by the natural progression of
their disease but directly by the actions of well-intentioned (but ill informed)
doctors. Imagine, further, what will happen when patients find out that
questions have been raised about the safety and advisability of needle biopsies for
a number of years by some of the finest minds in oncology. Imagine the
disruption of the smooth functioning of the “cancer industry” when patients start
demanding less invasive ways of diagnosing tumors. And imagine the class action
lawsuits.”
Significant parts of the Hansen study below are highlighted in red. Patients
may want to
include it in their Patient Portfolio.
Manipulation of the Primary Breast Tumor and the Incidence of
Sentinel Node Metastases From Invasive Breast Cancer
Nora M. Hansen, MD; Xing Ye, MS; Baiba J. Grube, MD; Armando E. Giuliano, MD
Arch Surg. 2004;139:634- 640. Hypothesis The incidence of sentinel node (SN)
metastases from invasive breast cancer might be affected by the technique used
to obtain biopsy specimens from the primary tumor before sentinel lymph node
dissection. Design Prospective database study. Setting The John Wayne Cancer
Institute.
Patients and Methods
We identified 663 patients with biopsy-proven invasive breast cancer who
underwent sentinel lymph node dissection between January 1, 1995, and April
30,1999. Patients were divided into 3 groups based on type of biopsy: fine-needle
aspiration (FNA), large-gauge needle core, and excisional. A logistic regression
model was used to correlate tumor size, tumor grade, and type of biopsy with
the incidence of SN metastases.
Results
Of the 676 cancers, 126 were biopsied by FNA, 227 by large-gauge needle core
biopsy, and 323 by excisional biopsy before sentinel lymph node
dissection. Mean patient age was 58 years (range, 28-96 years), and mean
tumor size was 1.85 cm (range, 0.1-9.0 cm). In multivariate analysis based on
known prognostic factors, the incidence of SN metastases was higher in patients
whose cancer was diagnosed by FNA (odds ratio, 1.531; 95% confidence interval,
0.973-2.406; P = .07, Wald test) or large-gauge needle core biopsy (odds ratio,
1.484; 95% confidence interval,1.018- 2.164; P = .04, Wald test) than by
excision. Tumor size (P<.001) and grade (P = .06) also were significant prognostic
factors.
<FONT COLOR=”#000000″ BACK=”#ffffff” style=”BACKGROUND- COLOR: #ffffff” SIZE=3 PTSIZE=12 FAMILY=”SANSSERIF” FACE=”V
Conclusions
Manipulation of an intact tumor by FNA or large-gauge needle core biopsy is
associated with an increase in the incidence of SN metastases, perhaps due in
part to the mechanical disruption of the tumor by the needle. The clinical
significance of this phenomenon is unclear.
———— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— –
—-
According to the Hansen study, whether the increased incidence of sentinel
node
metastases will promote a regional recurrence or affect overall survival is
unknown. Will
a core biopsy increase the chance of a local recurrence? Another research
team, led by
A. Chen, published “Local Recurrence of Breast Cancer After Breast Cancer
Therapy in Patients Examined by Means of Stereotactic Core-Needle Biopsy,” in
the journal
Radiology in 2002 after finding that a core biopsy followd by a lumpectomy
and radiation does not increase the risk of a local recurrence. It is worth
noting that the authors of this study speculate that there might be an
increased risk of a local recurrence unless adjuvant radiation is used. (See
Thurfjell, et al., Acta Radiologica, [2000 ] and Chen, et
al.,Radiology, [2002] in the MEDICAL ARTICLES BIOPSY section.)
What is the impact of the increased incidence of SN metastases on overall
survival?
The American College of Surgeons’ Z0010 study will address the significance
of
micrometastases in the regional lymph nodes of patients with invasive breast
cancer.
The Chen (2002) needle biopsy study and other studies suggest needle
biopsies may not only raise the risk of spreading cancer cells within the
breast
tissue itself to such a degree that radiation therapy is recommended, but
Hansen (2004) suggests that these biopsies may also spread them farther,
beyond the breast, to the sentinel node.
The take home question is:
Do you really want to undergo a diagnostic procedure, such as a needle
biopsy, which may increase your risk of spreading cancer cells when removing the
whole tumor with an excisional biopsy is an option?
Cited below are relevant excerpts from the much respected Townsend Letter for
Doctors and Patients ( 2004). The article elaborates upon the problems with
stereotactic (also called “core” biopsies because a bigger needle is used to
draw out tissue) biopsies.
Stereotactic Breast Biopsy: what you should know but probably weren’t told
http://findarticles .com/p/articles/ mi_m0ISW/ is_251/ai_ n6112675
Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, June, 2004 by Whitney S. Hibbard
[excerpted]
Question.
Are there any risks inherent in the stereotactic needle biopsy procedure?
Answer.
Yes. A survey of histological studies reveals that there is a clear danger of
seeding needle tracks with malignant cells “displaced in breast stroma or in
lymphovascular channels, associated with the traumatic effects of a needling
procedure,” according to Dr. Rosen, Department of Pathology, Memorial Sloan-
Kettering Cancer Center. Consequently, Dr. Rosen warns that “with tissue
disruption, lymphatic and vascular channels may also be breached, and it is
conceivable that detached epithelial fragments may enter vascular channels and perhaps
even be transported to lymph nodes.” (1)
Question.
What is the frequency of malignant needle track seeding?
Answer.
The frequency with which this occurs and the degree to which this leads to
metastases is uncertain. Studies range from an insignificant .003% frequency
of
malignant needle track seeding to a horrifying 89%. (2) Clearly, more
research is
needed to assess accurately the actual incidence. It is extremely important
to
understand, however, as Dr. Austin clarifies in Breast Cancer: What You
Should Know
(But May Not Be Told) About Prevention, Diagnosis, and Treatment, that it is
not breast cancer per se that kills: “What kills patients is the spread of
cancer to distant parts of the body–distal metastasis.”
Question.
Isn’t this really a moot concern because if a biopsy reveals a malignant
lesion it will be removed anyway?
Answer.
Maybe. The question is whether the whole needle track would be removed
during surgery, i.e., surgeons unaware of the malignant needle track seeding
problem
may not do the necessary excision. Furthermore, it must also be asked as to
how long
it takes for malignant cells leaked into a vascular channel to be distributed
to other
areas of the body (e.g., neighboring lymph nodes)? In all likelihood this
would be fait
accompli long before a scheduled surgery.
Question.
What are a patient’s diagnostic procedural options if she chooses not to
undergo fine needle biopsy?
Answer.
Critics of the procedure recommend lumpectomy with subsequent
histological examination once the tumor is safely removed, or surgical
excision of the needle track after biopsy. (3)
Question.
Is there a problem of “false negatives” (i.e., even though a malignant tumor
is present, it is missed with the needle so the pathology report is negative)
with
stereotactic needle biopsy?
Answer.
Allegedly, the X-ray guided needling in the stereotactic procedure will
reduce
greatly the number of “false negatives” which run as high as 23% in
non-stereotactic
needle biopsy procedures! (4)
Question.
Is there a danger inherent in the additional radiation exposure?
Answer.
Clearly “yes.” According to Dr. Gofman, MD, PhD, in Radiation and Human
Health: A Comprehensive Investigation of the Evidence Relating Low Level
Radiation
to Cancer and Other Diseases, ionizing radiation is a known carcinogen, there
is no
safe exposure level to ionizing radiation, and the effects of radiation
exposure are
cumulative throughout one’s life. Specific to breast cancer, Dr. Gofman
presents
compelling evidence in his new book, Preventing Breast Cancer: The Story of a
Major,
Proven, Preventable Cause of This Disease, that about 75% of those cancers
are
caused by exposure to ionizing radiation, principally from medical X-rays.
People
should not forget the massive and heavily promoted early detection mammogram
program in the 1950s and 1960s of women under 50 which was scrapped by the
National Cancer Institute because the incidence of cancers caused by repeated
radiation exposure was unacceptable. That program “caused between 55,000 and
65,000 future cancer deaths per year!” according to Dr. Gofman, a radiologist
with a
doctorate in medical physics, who headed a $24,500,000 seven-year study on
the
effects of radiation on human health.
[end of excerpt]
See full article, Hibbard W, “Stereotactic Breast Biopsy”,2004 article in
MEDICAL
ARTICLES BIOPSY section.)
———— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— –
—-
Since both FNA and core needle biopsies may be associated with a higher
incidence of sentinel lymph node metastases than that associated with
surgical
biopsy, is there any downside to undergoing excisional surgical biopsy, which
will remove the whole tumor?
In the previously cited article published in The Breast (2000), Dr. Robert
Rosser
advocates altering the surgical technique to avoid trauma to the breast in
order to
prevent any possible creation of injury-induced micrometastases, which he
calls
traumets.
Dr. Rosser writes, “The surgical technique should be altered to avoid
grasping a
tumor at any time. Retraction and control of the tumor would be better
accomplished by placing a large retention suture through the tumor, perhaps
several times through the tumor and using the suture to control the tumor
while
cutting around it.”
I’ve decided to take my chances with a needle biopsy. If I am premenopausal,
is there any advantage to timing the biopsy procedure with a particular part
of my menstrual cycle?
For premenopausal women, timing the surgical procedure with the menstrual
cycle
has now been studied in the context of needle biopsy as well as in that of
breast
surgery. It appears that timing breast piercing or surgery after ovulation is
worth
considering. A relevant study follows:
J Surg Oncol. 2000 Jul;74(3):232- 6.
Menses and breast cancer: does timing of mammographically directed core
biopsy affect outcome?
Macleod J, Fraser R, Horeczko N.
Department of Surgery, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:
Studies have shown molecular, genetic and
cellular changes in breast cancer during the menstrual cycle. Changes in
proliferative and metastatic potential of breast cancer cells during menses
could
explain improved survival when tumors are surgically removed in the luteal
[after
ovulation] phase. This study examined if timing of mammography/ core biopsy
(MAM-CB) also affected breast cancer prognosis (histological tumor grade).
METHODS:
Eighty-five premenopausal women undergoing MAM-CB at one clinic between March
1995 and February 1998 were retrospectively studied. All patients had Stage I
or II
breast cancer surgically treated. Patients were grouped by phase of menses at
MAM-CB:follicular (F, Days 0-14) or luteal (L, Days 15-35). Groups were
comparable in age,menarche, family history, nulliparity, breastfeeding, and total
percentage of clinically palpable tumors. Pathological characteristics of the
tumors (tumor size, tumor type,estrogen and progesterone receptor status,
axillary lymph node status, the presence of lymphatic or vascular invasion and
extranodal metastasis) was also comparable across the 2 groups. RESULTS: Low-grade
tumors were more frequent in the MAM-CB group L, whereas high-grade tumors
were more common in the MAM-CB group F (P = 0.002, chi2(4) = 17.06).
CONCLUSIONS: Timing of MAM-CB in relation to menses may be a factor influencing breast can
cer outcome. Future studies examining the effect of menses on the outcome of
breast cancer should
consider the potential effect of the timing of MAM-CB.
———— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— –
I do not want anyone cutting into my breast. Are there alternatives to
surgery?
No Amazon member has definitively gotten rid of a tumor without surgery. One
member has shrunken hers with hormone modulation, and another used an
alternative medicine program to help shrink hers, but neither person shrank
her
tumor to the point of disappearance. Conventional medicine might suggest
using”neo-
adjuvant” chemotherapy to shrink the mass, but this methodology is
customarily used
in conjunction with a later surgery–which is why it’s also called
pre-operative
chemotherapy.
What about these cancer salves I read about? Do they remove the tumor
without surgery?
Cancer salves may work, but no one associated with the Amazon Group has
experienced any lasting benefit associated with using them to treat breast
tumors.
My biopsy came back positive for cancer. I want a second and maybe a third
opinion. How long do I have to make a decision about what kind of surgical
procedure to have?
Any reputable doctor will tell you there is time to schedule second and third
opinions
after a breast cancer diagnosis, but bear in mind that studies and articles
show that
expeditious surgery may counteract potentially negative effects of cells
displaced by
past needle biopsies.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: biopsy, cancer | 3 Comments »
Cancerfighter's Weblog 
Oregano Oil
Posted by Jonathan Chamberlain on May 31, 2008
Oregano Oil
For Candida:
Oregano oil 5 drops daily in spring water or natural juice clears candida. As long as the client keeps off starchy foods, fermented items and sugar they should remain clear – Sue
For Basal Cell Carcinoma:
Oregano oil is also good topically for skin cancer-basal cell
carcinoma in my personal experience. Dries is out and it just falls
off! – Esther
Posted in Comments and Suggestions | Tagged: candida, skin cancer | Leave a Comment »