by Marcel Hernandez, N.D.
1. Immunologist wins “Breakthrough Prize” for innovative cancer treatment
Perhaps the greatest difficulty in treating cancer is that cancer cells develop mechanisms to hide from the body’s immune system.
Immunotherapy is an approach to treating cancer that enables the immune system to identify and destroy cancer cells. In early September, a French Canadian immunologist, Michel Sadelain, was recognized for his pioneering work in CAR T-cell therapy, a new form of immunotherapy treatment that has shown exceptional efficacy against blood cancers like multiple myeloma.
In the treatment, A patient’s own T-cells are collected, modified outside the body, and infused back into the blood, creating a so-called “living drug.”
Although the therapy’s mechanism of action creates many profound side-effects, there is hope that the principles of CAR-T cell therapy treatment can be refined and made safe for future use.
My Comment: I think that immunotherapy is the way forward. In chemotherapy, a drug is used to try to kill the cancer. Unfortunately, other cells in the body are negatively affected. In immunotherapy, drug therapy is used to try to get the patient’s own immune system to recognize and destroy the tumor.
At present, these drugs are as dangerous as chemotherapy drugs. Also, the cost of CAR-T cell therapy is an unsustainable $500,000 and higher. (There is something to be said about the disadvantages of a for-profit health care system.) Full article HERE.
2. This type of ginger could have powerful anti-cancer properties
Kencur, a plant in the ginger family, grows in the tropics and is especially popular in Indonesia where it is used in food and drinks.
Now, scientists from Osaka Metropolitan University in Japan have discovered that its main active ingredient, known as EMC, suppresses cancer growth. Using EMC (ethyl p-methoxycinnamate) extracted from the ginger, they discovered that it works at a cellular level to regulate protein expression in cancer.
My Comment: I’m often asked why I chose naturopathic medicine instead of conventional medicine as a path of service.
To make a long story short: I believe that God put on planet Earth everything we need to heal ourselves. Our job is to align with God through his creation. The best path lies in discovering what has been provided. Of course, there’s little profit to be made from herbal and natural remedies, so there isn’t a lot of incentive for research, as there is in the immunotherapy procedure described above. Full article HERE.
3. Prostate cancer: A new type of radiation treatment limits risk of side-effects
A new technique called stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) can focus precisely targeted beams of high-dose radiation on a tumor from almost any direction.
This means less collateral damage to tissues near the target organ. The entire course of therapy requires just five individual treatments over two weeks, making SBRT more convenient than earlier low-dose methods that required more visits to the clinic. The treatment relies on specialized types of medical imaging scans that allow doctors to visualize where cancer exists in the body.
My Comment: As a naturopathic doctor, I’m tempted to cringe when one of my patients announces that they’ve decided to do a few sessions of radiation. The side-effects of radiation range from mild and tolerable, to brutal. I am totally confident that we will one day find the key that unlocks the cure to all cancers. At that time, chemotherapy and radiation will be recalled as a barbaric procedure that weakened the life force instead of enhancing it. Full article HERE.
4. Starch in Green Bananas May Slash Risk of Some Cancers by Over 60%, Study Finds
New research shows that those who prefer eating green bananas might be receiving major anti-cancer benefits, even against hereditary cancer. Researchers at the Universities of Newcastle and Leeds identified a starch in unripe bananas that has the potential to reduce the risk of certain cancers by more than 60%. This marks the first trial that has highlighted a diet supplement that could potentially prevent hereditary cancer.
My Comment: Again, we have barely begun to realize the profound connection between diet and cancer prevention and cure. There are many varieties of bananas, and although they all belong to the same family, their tastes and health-promoting qualities are varied. The least useful is the high-sugar variety most common in the supermarket produce section. Full story HERE.
5. The advent of bacteria that can detect if a tumor is developing and destroy it
Recently, a team of researchers from the universities of San Diego (U.S.) and Adelaide (Australia) reported a study in Science in which genetically modified bacteria were used to detect tumor DNA in the intestines of mice. This function could be incorporated into other projects that have sent bacteria into solid tumors. (The bacteria were modified to carry therapeutic payloads.)
The method enabled the researchers to breach the barriers by which tumors protect themselves from the immune system, and apply medications directly – which has been a longstanding challenge.
My Comment: For decades, the focus of cancer research has been on developing ever more toxic drugs to try to kill cancer cells. The problem has always been that chemotherapy often kills the patient.
Some recent research has shifted to getting the immune system to recognize cancer cells.
Introducing genetically modified bacteria into the body is extremely risky, with potential long-term effects that cannot be determined by the usual three-stage drug testing mechanisms currently in place. Full article HERE.
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