Chemotherapi drugs for cancer
In January, 2005 it was reported that cancer has surpassed heart
disease ' for the first time ' as the top killer of Americans
younger than 85. In 2002, the most recent year for which
information is available, 476,009 Americans younger than 85 died
of cancer, compared with 450,637 who died of heart disease. An
estimated 1,372,910 new cancer cases and 570,260 cancer deaths
are expected this year. Paclitaxel, a preferred treatment for
lung and breast cancers, has a cancer-promoting risk as well'.
Lung cancer remains the biggest cancer killer, projected to
claim 163,510 lives this year. Paclitaxel will be used in the
attempt to save the lives of many of these patients. However,
one little-known effect of Paclitaxel is that in a subset of
these patients there will be up to a fivefold increase in the
production of Interleukin ' 8 (IL-8) ' a cellular communication
molecule that initiates the growth of new blood vessels to feed
the growing cancer. In other words, if you fall into this subset
of patients, treatment using Paclitaxel alone may not be
effective at preventing recurrence. NF-kB blockade enhances
cancer killing ability of Paclitaxel! IL-8 is under the control
of an inflammatory regulating protein called nuclear
factor-kappa Beta (NF-kB). When the activation of NF-kB is
blocked, IL-8 dries up, much like a faucet that has been turned
off. Thus, blocking NF-kB activation enhances the cancer killing
ability of Paclitaxel. These results were seen with many types
of cancer cells, including lung and esophageal cancer cells.
Paclitaxel is NOT the Only Drug that Promotes Excessive NF-kB
Paclitaxel is but one of a group of drugs that has this unwanted
side-effect of activating NF-kB. Other drugs in this group
include Doxorubicin, 5-Fluorouracil, Cisplatin, VP-16
(Etoposide), ARA-C, and Methotrexate. In addition, research
demonstrates that excessive NF-kB activity contributes to cancer
development in the following types of cancers: non-small cell
lung cancer, pancreatic, primary liver, head and neck cancer,
prostate, breast, esophageal, stomach, colon, Hodgkin's disease,
and multiple myeloma. Supportive treatment that improves
chemotherapy effectiveness'.. Paclitaxel, along with the other
NF-kB activating chemotherapeutic drugs, is approved for the
treatment of a wide range of cancers. It appears likely that
they will continue to be used for the foreseeable future. If you
are on (or considering using) Paclitaxel or one of the other
drugs in this group to treat cancer, there is a supportive
treatment that you need to know about that improves the
effectiveness of these drugs and reduces your risk of having a
cancer recurrence.
We have a Multi-Dimensional Approach to Reducing Inflammation
that Complements and Enhances the Impact of these Drugs! At the
Center for Learning about Healing in Ann Arbor, MI where I
practice integrative medicine and behavioral oncology, I focus
on multi-dimensional ways to empower patients to evaluate and
change patterns of eating, behaving, thinking, and coping that
are known to contribute to inflammatory reactions in the body.
These methods complement the cancer killing effects of
Paclitaxel, Doxorubicin, 5-FU, and other such drugs. Genomic
Testing Can Clarify Your Specific Inflammatory Molecular
Mechanisms that Sustain Your Cancer Inflammation is present
before, and during the life of a cancer. In cancer, inflammation
is a pathological process characterized by injury or destruction
of tissues caused by a variety of cellular and chemical
reactions. It is usually manifested by typical signs of pain,
heat, redness, swelling, and loss of function. However,
inflammation is also essential for tissue repair and tissue
rebuilding. Genomic testing (easily performed with saliva or
blood samples) allows us to create a personalized map of your
inflammatory tendencies based on your genomic predispositions.
This method is revolutionary because it allows you to regulate
your genomic capabilities to your advantage, which then allows
you to reduce the expression of your inflammation-related genes.
What Cancer Patients Need to DO is Reduce the Expression of
Inflammation-Related Genes Once you know your specific genomic
blueprint for excessive inflammation, we work together to
develop the tools you need to re-set the expression of your
inflammation blueprint. These tools must be unique to you,
precisely because your genomic expression capabilities are
unique to you. These tools include anti-inflammatory diets
supported by oral and intravenous nutrients that block and
down-regulate NF-kB. Remember, it is this protein that is
responsible for the abnormal rise in IL-8 during Paclitaxel
administration. By measuring markers of cellular inflammation
before, during, and after chemotherapy treatment, and using your
unique tools, we compile a personalized treatment record of
inflammatory responses (normal and abnormal) that serves as a
benchmark for your risk of cancer recurrence after chemotherapy
treatment. With these personalized guidelines, you will have
insider knowledge about choices of foods, behaviors, and
interpersonal relationships that will be conducive to keeping
your inflammation-related genes quiet. Patients with high
inflammatory markers during chemotherapy are at higher risk for
recurrence, and thus need to more closely monitor and modulate
their NF-kB expression after the chemotherapy ends. What is
important to understand is that: - There is an optimal amount of
expression of NF-kB consistent with health; - Excessive
expression contributes to diseases like cancer recurrence,
especially when NF-kB is turned on continuously; and - You will
have the power and the tools needed to regulate NF-kB's
expression. Become the Captain of Your Healing Team! As your
physician-coach, I recommend that you become the captain of your
healing team, and let me and my team partner with you to clarify
the specific molecular mechanisms driving your specific cancer.
We coach you to learn the skills and to master the tools needed
to reduce the collective contribution of foods, emotions, and
behaviors to the excessive expression of inflammation-related
genes. By working together, you learn to modulate your
inflammation blueprint by modulating the expressive capacity of
NF-kB. Modulating your expression of NF-kB is the inner game of
self-discovery, consciousness expansion, forgiveness, and cell
(self) renewal that is what allows healing to occur. (To view
diagrams describing NF-kB in health and in disease, visit our
website at http://www.arond-thomaso
nline.com!) Learn More about How You Can Improve Your
Chances of Not Having a Cancer Recurrence' You or a loved one
can learn more about how you can improve the effectiveness of
your cancer treatments and improve your chances of not having a
recurrence.
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