
Columbines
I have fallen behind in my correspondence as well as with the blog. Here are some recent emails.
~ Kristy has been fighting renal cell (kidney cancer) since 2007. She writes at ♥ FOREVER KRISTY ♥. See her listing of other renal cell survivor blogs.
~ Randy Perry has been fighting stage IV colon cancer since 2009. He writes a blog about his extended treatment at Fighting Cancer
~ Lynda is a brain tumor survivor who writes at My Brain Tumour. “I was actually diagnosed with a benign parasagittal meningioma in July 2006. I was very lucky that as it was positioned on the top of my head it was very accessible and successfully completely surgically removed in the same month. I have my own Ebook which relates my journey through the whole episode which can be found at http://www.mybraintumour.com”
~ from the site Navigating Cancer: “I work for Navigating Cancer and am writing to follow up on an email we sent earlier this week inviting you to preview a new feature we launched for patients; a free online medical history form. So far we’ve received great feedback from oncology clinic staff, some of them are even considering replacing their paper intake forms with our online forms.
As someone who has worked with cancer patients, and personally experienced leukemia, we’d love to get your perspective on this new feature. We’re also looking for quotes that we could use in an upcoming press release, which would generate more exposure for your blog.
The purpose for creating this feature is to provide a safe and secure application that patients can complete at their convenience, saving them hours filling out forms in waiting rooms and providing a comprehensive and accurate medical history to their health care team. When doctors have a complete picture of a patient’s health they can provide the best care.
Thanks for your time and support, I look forward to your feedback so we can continue to improve the site and provide the best experience for cancer patients.
- Medical History Form Overview – click the link to learn more, or log in and check it out”
~ Michelle Burns describes herself as a Health and Wellness guide, healer and teacher. She writes “Thank you so much for all the work you have put in to bring so many resources together in one place.
I am a uterine cancer survivor and I work as an advocate/navigator for people living with, through and beyond life threatening long term illnesses. I often refer them to your site or a resource I have found through your site. It is truly a gift.
I have a blog about my experiences regaining my life again after cancer, as well as information gained from clients that I would like to add to your list. My blog can be found at: http://prohealthguide.wordpress.com/”
~ Megan writes a new blog about her husband’s sarcoma at The Cancer Wife. Here is a sample:“Papa has a bump, a bump filled with bad cells.” This is what we told our children 6 & 4 when we discovered this May that my man has cancer. He is a healthy 37 year old. He had a small hard bump on his pubic bone for a while and suddenly noticed in January that it had gotten bigger. He ignored it a while longer and then in April finally went to the doctor.
We thought it was a hernia.The doctor ruled out hernia and ordered blood work and a CT scan. The blood work came back fine and I sighed a huge sigh of relief! Silly me. After the CT scan my man met with a surgical oncologist who believed it was a Desmoid Tumor, a benign form of sarcoma. My man had a biopsy on May 12th and on May 18th I received a call from the doctor. She wanted to discuss my husband’s biopsy results with me, I immediately burst into tears.
We are told he is lucky in many ways; the tumor isn’t attached to anything important, it is operable, it hasn’t metastasized, but it is high grade which means it wants to. Since the original diagnosis we have had nothing but good news. But it is still cancer and it is still the scariest thing that has ever happened to us. My mother died of cancer when I was 24. It is hard to separate this cancer from hers, it is hard to believe doctors when they say my man will be fine, I have heard that before.
My man is German, and he is a Data Analyst. Thank god for small wonders. He is so calm and rational through this. I joke that I am freaked out enough for both of us. I hope to relieve my body of the physical hardships of being freaked out 24 hours a day by writing this blog. Maybe it will be useful for others as well. I do respond to stress with sometimes inappropriate/black humor so consider yourself warned.”
~ And this from Lauri Panopoulis: “I work for Cancerdirectory.com, a contemporary lifestyle and well respected cancer information website. The site includes survivor blogs as well as cancer treatment news and website reviews.
We are dedicated to helping those affected by cancer by providing a community of patients, survivors, family members and health professionals who share individual stories with each other and the world.“ CancerDirectory.com
Finally news of a new book by oncologist, Keith Block.
Preventing a Recurrence of Cancer
by the author of Life Over Cancer: The Block Center Program for Integrative Cancer Treatment
According to the National Cancer Institute, there are over 12 million cancer survivors in the US today. And that number is expected to grow, as the population ages, treatments improve, and tests find the disease earlier.
Cancer survivors face a myriad of health challenges, not to mention the daunting fear the cancer will return. However, once a patient is deemed “in remission,” they are typically disconnected from care — as well as any attending support — and told to come back in three to six months where diagnostic scans or blood tests will determine if the cancer has returned.
We suggest a far more pro-active, empowered approach: a remission maintenance plan that offers cancer survivors a personalized program to regain control of their health, restore vitality and protect against the cancer returning. At the Block Center, once a patient has completed their treatment, we personally tailor a comprehensive Remission Maintenance program for them that includes: therapeutic nutrition, exercise, mind-spirit care, and anti-tumor therapies.
Understandably, after hearing that they are “in remission,” patients may want to retreat psychologically to a “cancer- free” zone and never think about the disease again. But this is why they shouldn’t: Cancer is as much a microscopic and molecular disease as it is a visible one. Thus, a patient in remission may still harbor malignant cells (ones that were resistant to chemotherapy or radiation, and therefore survived the attack phase). These cells unfortunately have the ability to show up with a vengeance, even when one least suspects. Not placing far greater emphasis on containing and addressing these cells from the get-go is a significant omission of mainstream treatment. But while preemptive treatment strategies may only exist in integrative clinics, when it comes to the diagnostic side, a new technology has begun demonstrating the relevance of these virulent escape cells.
Enter CTCs (circulating tumor cells)! Over a decade ago, the Block Center was one of a few that were performing bone marrow biopsies to evaluate for malignant cells in both the marrow and in circulation. It took several years, but eventually this evolving diagnostic technology made it into conventional care. While easier to perform today and more reliable as well, we continue to use this in our clinic. This technology allows us and others the ability to measure in our patients the number of these detached cells circulating freely from the main cancer mass. Though not yet approved for all cancer, research studies have shown that an increase of these cells is prognostic of a patient’s survival.
For instance, a CTC count may be a better prognostic indicator for survival among prostate cancer patients than a PSA level — the test used presently to determine and follow the course of prostate cancer growth.
By comparing the levels of CTC in 37 men with metastatic prostate cancer, researchers at Thomas Jefferson University found that for the men with 5 CTCs or more, the median overall survival was only 8.4 months. Whereas, if these men were found to have less than 5 CTCs, the median survival was 48 months!
The relevance of CTCs is also relevant to other cancers. For instance, CTCs were measured in 151 women with metastatic breast cancer. The MD Anderson Cancer Center’s researchers found that those patients with 5 or more CTCs had a median survival of only 13 months, whereas those with less 5 survived over 29 months!
Controlling, preventing or overcoming these detached and disseminating cells is possibly the biggest conundrum facing cancer scientists. While these cells are generally addressed during treatment, the first steps of recurrence prevention should start with strategies to counter the survival of these residual cells and inhibiting their potential proliferation. In fact, CTCs that have gone through the onslaught of treatment and have nonetheless survived have the potential to evolve into more aggressive clones encouraging a more virulent malignancy. So what to do?
Aggressive Monitoring
We recommend regular monitoring of patients’ status with lab tests and imaging to detect early signs of disrupted biochemistry or a recurrence of disease, especially in the year or two after remission.
Being “diagnostically aggressive” may allow us to be less invasive therapeutically. In the first years after remission, therefore, we recommend:
Clinical visits with your oncologist, at least every three to four months in the first and second year and every six months for the next several years
Scans and blood tests of tumor markers every three months.
Complete blood count and chemistry test every three months.
Nutrition status, including weight changes, body composition, and albumin levels, every three months.
Internal terrain monitoring, every three to six months for the terrain factors that are most problematic.
While monitoring, there is no reason to wait anxiously for the other shoe to drop. So immediately implement a full integrative program.
Make sound dietary changes toward adherence of a whole foods diet. Reduction in dietary fat has already been shown to cut recurrences in different cancers. Controlling refined flour, sugar and junk food is a necessary step to avoid the recurrence risk of elevated blood glucose and spiking insulin levels.
Introduce aerobics, strength and flexibility training into your daily schedule. Yoga, pilates, chi gong or any number of fitness approaches is an essential step towards recurrence prevention. Considerable research supports that risk, response, recurrence and outcomes are tied to physical care.
Mitigate stress through progressive relaxation, meditation, or simply easing the load on an excessive work schedule. Elevated cortisol levels are associated with poorer outcomes in breast cancer patients. So do what it takes to transform less healthy patterns.
Get rest and adequate sleep. The more active you are in the daytime, the better you’ll sleep at night. Few of us get enough sleep
- Keith I. Block, M.D. is Director of Integrative Medical Education at the University of Illinois College of Medicine; Medical Director of the Block Center for Integrative Cancer Treatment in Evanston, Illinois; and founder and Scientific Director of the nonprofit Institute for Integrative Cancer Research and Education. He is also editor in chief of the peer-reviewed professional journal Integrative Cancer Therapies and a member of the National Cancer Institute’s Physician Data Query Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Editorial Board.