Battling Cancer

Bacteria develop resistance to antibiotics. And tumor cells develop resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs. This resistance to chemotherapy is the leading cause of death in cancer patients.

There’s some good news though. Researchers at the University of California at Riverside may just have found the way to beat chemotherapy resistance in a very simple way - by sticking to a healthy diet!

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Resource Post for November

Ever since it hit the news late last year, bisphenol A (BPA) is getting more and more notorious. The latest development in the BPA story is this - researchers at the University of Cincinnati reported that exposure to BPA may actually reduce the effectiveness of chemotherapy treatments among cancer patients.

Yet, plastic manufacturers all over are still using it in their polymerization process. And food manufacturers are using plastics with BPA in their packaging.

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Today’s guest commentary is by Amanda, a cancer research scientist, on the high cost of anti-cancer drugs.

Can you put a price on life? What a complex and interesting question, and one that I have never really thought much of before. But this is the question that many cancer patients face when considering the coming months of costly treatment options after their initial diagnosis.

While many insurance companies cover a percentage of the drug treatment costs, the price of new cutting-edge treatments are astronomical. For example, herceptin is a drug that prescribed to women who have breast cancers that overexpress a receptor called HER2. This type of cancer is very aggressive, and tends to grow and spread more quickly than HER2-negative tumors. Treatment with herceptin is the only option for women having this type of cancer. However, the drug is by no means cheap. Months of treatment can reach $25,000-$50,000 a year. The approximate cost of a three week infusion of herceptin is about $5,000. If the insurance company covers 70% of the cost, you will still be left with $1,500 that is not covered.

This figure only takes into account type of treatment. Depending on the type of cancer, combinational therapy may be the only option for patient survival, with two to three different types of drugs that the patient must pay for or face certain death. After a few months, this adds up, and most working class families cannot afford it. And the question once again returns: can you put a price on life?

Why are these treatments so expensive? More →

Nutritional polyphenol antioxidants have have been enjoying a renaissance of sorts in the arena of cancer drug development, and the evidence of the downstream ripples lies in the long list of results that a quick googling of “antioxidants + cancer” yields.  So naturally (heh heh), my interest was piqued when I saw the following headline:  “In the Battle Against Cancer, Researchers Find Hope in a Toxic Wasteland.”

The opening paragraphs:

BUTTE, Mont. — Death sits on the east side of this city, a 40-billion-gallon pit filled with corrosive water the color of a scab. On the opposite side sits the small laboratory of Don and Andrea Stierle, whose stacks of plastic Petri dishes are smeared with organisms pulled from the pit. Early tests indicate that some of those organisms may help produce the next generation of cancer drugs.

From death’s soup, the Stierles hope to coax life.

Creepy stuff, huh?  The life-giving properties of ”death’s soup,” as described by Christopher Maag of the New York Times earlier this month, are the results of recent findings by Donald and Andrea Stierle.  The Stierles, a husband and wife time of scientists at Montana Tech of the University of Montana, have been hard at work for the last few years isolating extremely hardy compounds from the Berkley Pit Lake which previously served as one of the world’s largest copper mines before it was abandoned in the 1980’s. More →

Hi everyone,

As I mentioned yesterday, tomorrow is first day of volunteer orientation at the MD Anderson Cancer Center. MDA is nestled within the depths of the The Texas Medical Center, a system of over 40 government and not-for-profit institutions making it the largest medical center in the world. As a small town girl, it’s a pretty amazing sight to see (except around rush hour when it loses its charm just a little).

MD Anderson has some of the best and brightest cancer physicians and research scientists in the world. This week, many of them are in San Francisco, California discussing their findings at the International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, the joint meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer. This annual meeting is one of the world’s leading conferences covering breakthroughs in new developments in chemotherapeutics. Here’s some of the latest daily headlines from the meeting, courtesy of AACR: More →

Experts agree that for most breast cancer cases, chemotherapy is not the first treatment of choice. But for those for whom it is appropriate, it can provide effective, long term results.

Chemotherapy consists of using drugs to combat cancer. With the increasing sophistication of pharmacology, those drugs are safer, more effective and more targeted, with fewer side effects than ones of the past. Today, it’s common to use a drug ‘cocktail’ in order to offset side effects and provide a more effective treatment.

The drugs used typically interfere with the cells’ ability to divide, since that is one of the chief characteristics of cancers, an uncontrolled growth from abnormal cell division in breast cancer tissue.

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By Dave Saunders

Chemotherapy is a word that causes dread in most who hear it. It is a time of stress as well as risk. If you, or someone you know, are facing chemotherapy, these four simple steps may help get through the process with better spirits and better results as well.

1. Tell your doctor if you get side effects from treatment

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By June Carr

There is nothing more important in life than our health. Yes, it’s more important than money, since without it, we may not be able to work or earn a living, and with it, we can participate in society and live our lives the way we desire. Years ago, when I heard that my father had cancer, I was devastated and from that day till now, I’ve learned all that I can about cancer, and how we can live our lives in a beneficial way, that will allow us to journey forward through the trials we face. What I’ll mention are not cure alls, and of COURSE see your doctor, these are simply tips for a healthy life.

If you find yourself in the middle of cancer treatment, don’t stop what before you knew to be healthy. Drink water it will help your system to stay flushed, will keep your intestines open and aid your kidneys in dealing with medications you may be taking.

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By Michael Russell

Undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer patients will definitely increase overall survival; the occurrence of adverse events is inevitable. Of all the side effects of chemotherapy, bone marrow toxicity. The bone marrow primarily functions as the production site of white and red blood cells. Most women treated with chemotherapy for breast cancer will experience a decline in their white blood cell count, most often seven to fourteen days after treatment. This drop of cell count is known as leucopenia. Thus, while on chemotherapy, the breast cancer patient should be alert for any infection, which is the first sign of bone marrow suppression. The most immediate symptom of an infection will be a fever.

As a cancer patient, it is important that you alert your physician at the first signs of infection and to receive antibiotic therapy. There are some clinical protocols that routinely put women on antibiotics the second week after each chemotherapy session as a prophylactic measure against infection. Gene technology is now trying to get into the picture of safer chemotherapy. There are genetically engineered bone marrow stimulants available for women who develop severe depression of their white or red blood cell counts. Drugs like Neuprogen and Epogen are some of these agents. Fortunately, the toxicity to the bone marrow that occurs after chemotherapy is temporary and reversible. If an infection occurs, it is potentially very serious and must be addressed immediately to avoid fatal complications.

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By Marcus Stout

For the last several years, there has been an abundance of research on the effects of green tea and its possible ability to prevent cancer. There has been a lot of focus on Asian culture, where the incidence of cancer is significantly lower that that of the Western world.

For centuries, the Chinese have used green tea for health. It is used not only to protect health and slow down the aging process, but also to treat illness. It appears that there is some very good science behind what Asians have been relying on for years.

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