Hebbie

How much is known about antioxidants? They help fight disease, but there is more to be learned By Karen Collins, R.D. - Registered Dietitian Special to MSNBC.com Updated: 3:49 p.m. ET Dec. 30, 2004 It’s common knowledge that antioxidants protect us from dangerous substances called free radicals that can create damage leading to many chronic diseases. Yet scientists say there is more to learn about the health benefits of antioxidants. Studies demonstrate that vegetables, fruits and whole grains supply an abundance of vitamins and natural phytochemicals that act as antioxidants. A greater consumption of these antioxidant-rich foods has been shown to lead to higher blood levels of antioxidant power. Studies also show that when people eat diets high in antioxidants, their risk of cancer and heart disease decreases. However, if antioxidant vitamins and phytochemicals are responsible for the health benefits seen, antioxidants from supplements may not yield the same results. A higher dose of antioxidants from supplements could actually be counterproductive by upsetting the natural balance of antioxidants in the body. The various kinds of antioxidants are now believed to work in different parts of the body. People may also vary in their need for each kind of antioxidant, depending on how much damage from free radicals, or oxidation damage, they are exposed to from tobacco smoke, overeating and other influences. To measure the amount of oxidation damage in a person, researchers examine certain biomarkers or physical signs. The level of biomarkers is usually determined through blood sample tests. Elevated biomarkers of DNA damage are linked to cancer risk. Signs of damage to blood vessel walls and oxidation of LDL cholesterol are connected to heart disease risk. Some research even suggests that oxidation damage to nerves may be linked to age-related brain changes. Although oxidation damage has been liked to these diseases, this damage cannot be said yet to cause them. One reason that the effect of antioxidants on disease is still unsure is that many studies of antioxidants use people known to be at an increased risk. For example, scientists will see if antioxidants offer any protection against heart attacks to people who have already had one. Since antioxidants seem to offer protection from damage that occurs early in the development of diseases, these studies may miss measuring some of the impact of antioxidants. In later stages, other factors may be more decisive. Boost intake through diet At one time, people thought that oxidation damage to cells was always bad. But studies now show that certain highly reactive compounds (free radicals) stimulate cancer cells to commit suicide. Radiation and chemotherapy work in this way. That is why many experts recommend avoiding antioxidant supplements during chemo and radiation therapy. The body may naturally combat the early stages of cancer, too, in this way, when abnormal cells are forming. Consequently, scientists are working to discover the amounts and combinations of antioxidants that best protect our cells without interfering with this natural defense mechanism. For now, you would be wise to limit major sources of oxidation damage and boost your intake of antioxidants through healthy eating. Major sources of oxidation damage are tobacco smoke and unprotected exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Since free radicals are formed when the body processes calories, avoiding excessive calories may also limit the oxidation damage to your body, as well as weight gain. By following the mostly plant-based diet recommended by the American Institute for Cancer Research, your intake of antioxidants will rise. Most importantly, by eating a wide variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans, you will receive a wide range of antioxidants which science shows work most effectively together. Nutrition Notes is provided by the American Institute for Cancer Research in Washington, D.C.© 2004 MSNBC Interactive

Disclaimer: I almost hesitate to post the following article (found in "Alternative Medicine" Magazine), but since this is the "Alternative" forum, I thought it was interesting enough to share. Please note that I am in no way recommending that everyone abandon "traditional" therapies and jaunt off to Mexico. With that said...... A cancer treatment for the Millennium A REMARKABLE NEW THERAPY USES INSULIN-INDUCED HYPOGLYCEMIA TO CREATE AN INTERNAL BIOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH CANCER SIMPLY CAN'T SURVIVE. We are sorry, but you probably have only two more months left, at the outside," the doctors told John Franzoni, as they've told millions of other people. "There's nothing more that we can do for you." The doctors had done plenty, including traditional radiation treatment, in an attempt to destroy the tumors on John's esophagus and in his lungs. The radiation left him sick and debilitated, but at the end of treatment the tumors were not only still there, they had doubled in mass. Because of this, chemotherapy was not considered an option. Four months later, however, John not only wasn't dead, he was feeling better than he had in years. The three tumors on his throat and tongue, which the doctors thought would quickly overwhelm him, were completely gone. The cancer tumors in his lungs had been reduced 25% so far. All signs have him headed toward remission. The reason: he was guided by a friend to a clinic in Mexico that had just started using a therapy that conventional medicine had first ignored and then successfully quashed over the past 38 years. The clinic was BioPulse, and the therapy they employed has the formidable-sounding name of Insulin-induced Hypoglycemic Therapy (IHT). And formidable it is, as a therapy that is showing amazing results in reversing even end-stage cancer. BioPulse only began using IHT in June 1999. At the time this article is being written, they have used this therapy on thirty-two patients, with about thirty treatments each. Every patient treated has had their tumors substantially reduced or completely eliminated. It is the same with their pain--diminished or gone altogether. Patients report increased appetite, improved mental outlook and sense of humor, and general sense of well-being. There have been absolutely no adverse effects. While it is obviously too early to tell if their cancer will never reoccur, there is no reason to think it will. In conjunction with IHT, BioPulse employs a comprehensive detoxification and fortification program, along with nutrition and lifestyle education. This is an integrated systemic approach. As long as patients adhere to healthy life habits, their bodies should prove inhospitable for cancer or any other degenerative disease. The patients treated so far with IHT at BioPulse have had a variety of different cancers, including cancer of the lung, colon, pancreas, liver, breast, prostate, esophagus, bone and blood. Their conditions range from early-stage to advanced. Some went straight to BioPulse soon after they were diagnosed; others didn't go until after they had undergone excruciating radiation, surgery, and chemotherapy that had left them severely debilitated, but uncured and facing death. Scans of a 51-year-old woman who was diagnosed with breast cancer that spread to her bones. The black-and white scan on the left was taken in 12/98 at Mercy Medical Center in Durango Colorado. The dark areas show extensive tumors in her bones. She came to BioPulse in 7/99 in a wheelchair. She commenced IHT and within 3 weeks, 50% of her tumors had disappeared. Her pain had also diminished substantially and she no longer needed the wheelchair. A month later, another 50% of the remaining tumors had disappeared. The color scans on the right were taken in with updated equipment in 8/99. The yellow areas show how much the cancer had been reduced. How IHT Works IHT involves intravenously introducing insulin to produce a state of profoundly lowered blood sugar. This state lasts for a period of about an hour under careful clinical supervision. It is this hypoglycemic condition that changes the environment in the body to one in which cancer cells cannot survive. Insulin Therapy was first employed in 1928 as an experimental treatment to cure morphine addiction. Its efficacy caused it to quickly gain popularity and be used to treat other mental conditions. Its first and only use for cancer treatment was by a single physician, Dr. Surgis Koroljow, for a period of a few years in the late 1950s. He reported spectacular success, but was forced to stop his work after the state of New Jersey threatened to revoke his license (please see the sidebar on the facing page, "How Conventional Medicine Suppressed a Promising Therapy...") Because its use as a treatment for cancer has been so limited, no one is sure of the exact mechanism whereby IHT destroys cancer cells. However, because of its wide use to treat mental illnesses for over 20 years, the physiological effects that IHT has on the body are well known. Oxygen and glucose are normally metabolized together. When glucose levels are lowered by insulin, the body's metabolism slows, oxygen accumulates in the blood, and the production of carbon dioxide decreases. This, in turn, increases the pH of the blood and tissues, so that they go from an acidic to an alkaline condition. Tumor cells have been described as "immature," and in some ways they are more vulnerable than normal cells, in the same way that healthy adults are better able to resist disease than sickly infants. Cancer cells cannot survive in an oxygenated, alkaline environment. Since hypoglycemic sleep is actually produced by excess oxygen in the blood through the paralysis of oxidation-reduction enzymes, it has been theorized that the extreme pH of the blood inactivates enzymes responsible for cancer cells' energy, and their ability to replicate. Repeated exposure to these conditions does not harm healthy cells, but it kills cancer cells. Receiving IHT at Biopulse It takes five days of preparation once a patient arrives at BioPulse before IHT is formally commenced. Initial small insulin injections are given on a daily basis at first, with the patient's blood glucose tested every quarter-hour for one hour, and then every hour for four hours, to determine the proper dosage for each individual. The blood is also analyzed to detect any nutritional deficiencies or abnormalities. Based on what the staff learns the first week, they prepare an IV that is given an hour prior to the insulin. The IV contains vitamins and minerals tailored to the patient's needs, including high amounts of vitamin A and melatonin to protect brains cells from a lack of glucose. Then the insulin itself is administered. A critical care physician and registered nurse are at bedside, continually monitoring every moment, and modifying the IV to maintain the desired glucose level. The sessions last 114 to 112 hours, during which time glucose levels are lowered from the normal level of 100 to 150, mg/dL, down to 20 mg/dL or below. Oxygen is also administered during the entire session. Patients are brought out of their sleep with the injection of methylene blue and an IV of glucose. BioPulse has found that the regulation of glucose return--not too fast and not too slow--is vital to the comfort of the patient. Therefore they emerge smoothly, without any side effects, with a feeling of well-being. They are generally soaked with sweat, which is a positive therapeutic sign. They are also almost always hungry, which is extremely positive for a cancer patient. Most positive of all is that 75% of the patients report a reduction in their pain from the very first session. Virtually all feel substantially better after the third session, and some are completely pain-free by then. The present course of treatment consists of 30 to 35 sessions over the course of eight weeks. With refinement, BioPulse is hoping to reduce their protocol to a four-week period, when their patients can leave the clinic well on the road to recovery, or even cancer-free. A Total Program Patients at BioPulse are never treated by IHT alone. This kills the cancer cells, but cancer is a systemic disease, and the entire environment of the body must be changed. To be truly cured of cancer, and to prevent its reoccurrence, the body must be detoxified, the immune system rebuilt, nutritional deficiencies rectified, and all biological functions normalized as much as possible. To accomplish all this, BioPulse employs a number of techniques. Not all methods are employed for every patient, but combined as appropriate. For almost everyone, vitamin and mineral IVs are given to strengthen the body, along with amino acid and enzyme therapies, and oral supplementation. Nutrition and nutrition education are fundamental. Dr. Bernarda Lara, BioPulse's critical care M.D., personally determines a custom menu of five different breakfasts, lunches, and dinners for patients to use as guidelines when they return home. For detoxification BioPulse uses chelation, and a program of colonics and enemas. Patients are sent to biological dentists to remedy problems caused by toxic amalgam fillings and infections from root canals.Other weapons in the clinic's medical arsenal include Hyberbaric Oxygen, and energy protocols such as Pulsed Magnetic Wave Therapy and Acoustic Light Wave Therapy. Case Histories The course of even successful therapy rarely runs smoothly. Take the case of 55-year-old John Franzoni, mentioned at the beginning of this article. The friend who originally referred John to BioPulse was the actress Sally Kirkland. She had learned about the clinic from Alternative Medicine's Burton Goldberg, when she consulted him about getting detoxified after having her silicone breast implants removed. When John arrived at BioPulse he had one large tumor on the back of his tongue and two large tumors on the inside of his throat that were so large he could hardly speak or eat. His conventional doctors thought that, if nothing else, these would cause John to starve to death. He also had one large tumor in the occipital area at the base of his skull that caused him dizziness. Plus, a life-long smoker, his lungs were riddled with tumors. After a week of prep work, he began IHT. He emerged from his third session feeling especially good, until one-half hour later he began spitting up blood. He spat up blood for some hours, until at 8:00 PM he spat up three chunks of tissue. BioPulse analyzed them in their laboratory and determined they were not coagulated blood but fibrous tissue. Immediately afterwards, however, John began to speak clearly for the first time in three weeks. Dr. Lara looked down his throat and saw that the three tumors were gone--either he had coughed them up or swallowed them. However, he now had three open lesions and they were bleeding. John was taken to a San Diego area hospital's emergency room, but four hours later the hospital phoned BioPulse and said "This patient is going to be dead in nine hours. Where do you want us to ship the body?" So Loran Swensen, president of BioPulse, drove over and found John sitting up in bed. "How do you feel?" Loran asked. "I feel fine," John replied, and, pointing to the ER physician, continued, "but this *ss-- here tells me I'm going to die." "Well, he's bleeding internally," said the doctor. "I don't think so," explained Loran, "I think he's just bleeding where he had had three tumors. They just came off." "That's impossible," said the doctor. "Look," Loran went on, "he's got three open lesions in his throat that just need cauterizing." The doctor refused to admit John, insisting that the procedure would be futile. John discharged himself, and Loran took him to the University of California at San Diego Medical Center, where he was admitted. The lesions were cauterized and the bleeding stopped immediately. John returned to the clinic ten days later and is doing fantastic. After three more weeks of IHT the remaining tumors in his lungs have decreased by 25 percent. Experiences like this prompted biopulse to open their own critical care center on site in October, 1999. Another amazing story is that of Talia Yampel, a 13-year-old girl from Tel Aviv, Israel. Talia had developed a tumor in her thigh. It grew to the size of a walnut, and then rapidly spread like a spider web throughout the entire thigh. Her physician, Yacov Goshen, M.D., at the Schneider Children's Medical Center in Israel, felt that the only thing he could do was to remove all the diseased tissue, which would have left her leg utterly deformed and useless. Her family had read about BioPulse in Alternative Medicine magazine, however, and decided to fly her to the clinic. Talia was given the full protocol of 35 IHT treatments. And although she felt better, two MRI's given during that time revealed that the tumor had not become even one millimeter smaller. Her walking improved, and her appetite; after the treatments, it didn't seem like she was sick at all, except that the tumor appeared to still be there, intact. The staff at BioPulse didn't know what else to do, and felt that perhaps they had encountered their first failure with this new procedure. Talia flew back to Israel, and went into the hospital to have the tumor removed surgically. But when her surgeon opened the leg, the tumor looked strange to him. He didn't proceed with the mutilating operation and instead took a biopsy. The results came back: the tumor was no longer malignant, it was completely benign. The treatments at BioPulse hadn't dissolved it, but they had changed its character. "I don't know how to explain this," her physician said, "I've never seen anything like it. Consider it a miracle. But there is no point in removing the tissue, because it is not a threat to the body. Talia can keep her leg."There are, as of now, thirty similar stories at BioPulse, but Loran hastens to add, "The sooner people come to us, the better. Don't wait until you've exhausted your bone marrow and everything else and expect us to send you home cured. At that point, even if we are able to reverse the cancer, the body is so weakened from radiation and chemotherapy that it is vulnerable to infections and other problems that survival is still problematic." As the doctors and staff at BioPulse are the first to state, thirty-odd cases treated over a four-month period is not conclusive proof that IHT is indeed a cancer cure for the millennium. But while this may not be equivalent to a large-sample study over an extended period of time, the absolutely amazing "anecdotal" results are no less compelling-especially for the three dozen patients who are the living, breathing "anecdotes." Contact: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Besides treating patients, BioPulse is developing a program to train physicians in IHT. The BioPulse Rejuvenation Center is located in Tijuana, Mexico. Tel: 888-552-2855 (from U.S.); 801-233-9094 (outside U.S.); international direct: 011-526-686-1880. Fax: 801-233-9089.

Commentary from the founder of Alternative Medicine Marshalling the Forces What it means to pull out all the stops to fight cancer. By Burton Goldberg Over the years I've known her, Myrna Brind has been a passionate advocate for alternative medicine. Elegant, cultured, well-read, and tireless in her work for various cultural and civic organizations, Myrna, now 59, reached out to those who were ill, giving spiritual inspiration as well as practical aid. World traveler, art collector, mother, and grandmother, Myrna and her husband, Ira, chairman of the board of trustees at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, worked with a committee of doctors to found the Center for Integrative Medicine there. Then suddenly, shockingly, in September of 2002, Myrna was diagnosed with a rare and virulent form of ovarian cancer. What doctors initially thought was a cyst turned out to be a malignant mixed M?llerian tumor, which combines deadly elements of both carcinoma and sarcoma. "I'm the one who tells everyone what to eat, what to do--I've worked with everybody from Bernie Siegel to Deepak Chopra," Myrna told me when she found out. "And now I'm the one who's sick." The Brinds pulled out all the stops to find help. They hired a cancer consultant in New York, who put them in touch with five oncologists. After interviewing them, the Brinds chose to go with an alternative physician instead and moved to Tucson, Arizona, for the cleaner air and to be closer to Myrna's doctor. For six months, she tried the practitioner's homeopathic and alternative remedies. Then she began losing weight and developed a horrible skin condition called dermatomyositis. When she finally went for a PET scan in March, the cancer had metastasized to her chest, bones, neck, thigh, and liver and throughout her pelvis. Her doctor told Myrna that her best chance for survival was to fly to Germany to see physician Friedrich Douwes at Klinik St Georg in Bad Aibling, Germany. Douwes's method of treating cancer has attracted notice for its high success rates. It involves a temperature-elevating process called hyperthermia along with low-dose chemotherapy, plus a regimen of detoxifying the body and boosting the immune system. Coincidentally, Douwes was attending an alternative medicine cancer conference in April in nearby Phoenix, so Myrna and Ira met him there and made plans to visit his hospital. At this point, I became involved. I, too, was attending the conference and had just returned from visiting the Kessler Clinic in northern Germany. The amazing results I witnessed there in the case of a friend of mine, Hildegarde (described in my June column, "Mending a Broken Life"), suggested to me that Myrna could survive only if she also underwent physician Wolf-Dieter Kessler's powerful combination of treatments. Most conventional doctors--and alternative ones as well--pay no attention to the cause of a cancer they're treating, whereas Kessler's methods have been designed to target the underlying factors so that he can restore the immune system to its proper function. I also knew that the feverish state induced by hyperthermia could be highly debilitating and might even kill Myrna if her body was not strengthened beforehand. Only the combination of the two approaches of these doctors, I believed, could save her. After much discussion, I was able to convince Ira and Myrna of the merits of this idea. Myrna arrived at the Kessler Clinic in Victorbur in a wheelchair, too weak to walk. "Her face was grotesquely swollen," Kessler recalls, "and she showed muscle wasting and had skin lesions all over her body. We were not sure we could save her." With his staff of highly trained technicians, Kessler immediately began the intensive diagnostic process he employs to determine the root causes of a patient's disease. He uses electrodermal screening methods to arrive at a diagnosis--the Vega, the Quint, and the Ondamed. All three measure disturbances in the body's organs and systems. Kessler's method involves applying results from two or more of these mechanisms to arrive at coordinates in a system he calls vectoring. "When you use only one system, usually you don't see the forest for the trees," says Kessler. "When several systems come up with the same thing, it's so dead-on it's like somebody takes a baseball bat and hits you on the head with the answer." Head-to-toe screening with the three methods revealed a multitude of problems, including a hormonal imbalance. Myrna had been treated with estrogen replacement therapy for nine years. This had failed to correct an underlying progesterone deficiency, but may well have contributed to her cancer. She also had chronic lung disease, the result of three bouts of pneumonia, and an intolerance to gluten. Kessler believes these problems produced the disturbances that led to Myrna's cancer. "It was like a fire that had been extinguished, but was still smoldering under branches and leaves," he says. Kessler encouraged Myrna to give up wheat and eat more meat. He put her on high doses of progesterone. He used the Ondamed to correct the electromagnetic field disturbances that produce blockages in the body and interfere with immune system function. And he assembled a test kit of 200 different homeopathic substances to find the ones that might help. After a week of treatment, Myrna and Ira traveled to the Douwes clinic, in southernmost Germany at the foot of the Bavarian Alps. Douwes and Kessler had agreed to work together, and the Ondamed, accompanied by one of Kessler's technicians, Maria Jakobs, went with them. Myrna spent two more weeks detoxifying, taking coenzyme Q10 for nutritional support, and working every day with Jakobs and the Ondamed. Then it was time for the hyperthermia treatment. Hyperthermia treats cancer by exposing body tissues to high temperatures, which is thought to help shrink tumors by damaging cells or depriving them of the substances they need to live. Since cancer had spread throughout Myrna's body, she needed to have full-body hyperthermia, an arduous and debilitating procedure. Myrna's body temperature was raised to 104 degrees, the level of a high fever, for a period of several hours. "When I came out of it, I was really a very sick woman," she recalls. She couldn't move any part of her body or even swallow. "She became a complete invalid," Ira told me. "Her proteins and albumin were so low I was planning her funeral." But even then Myrna remained hopeful. When she and Ira moved to Arizona, she had begun writing letters to a circle of friends asking to be kept in their prayers. Throughout her ordeal, she kept up a correspondence with 250 people, and prayer circles in her name were formed all over the world. The support helped give her the strength to undergo four courses of low-dose chemotherapy in two months at Klinik St Georg, and, since hyperthermia had been so debilitating, a gentler round of fever therapy (in which her body temperature was raised by hot water bottles and injections of Coley's toxin, a vaccine that raises temperature chemically). To Ira's relief, she finally began to feel better and gain weight. Back in Philadelphia, Myrna slowly continued to improve. Her skin cleared and she gained 20 pounds. Ultrasound showed that her tumors had shrunk, with the largest going from 9 to 4 centimeters. In July, she returned to Germany for another round of healing. Kessler screened homeopathic substances until he came up with the one acid he felt would be effective against the 4-centimeter tumor. The tumor melted away in days. Douwes had a hard time recognizing Myrna the next time he saw her. "Here was a woman with beautiful skin, and a beautiful head of gray hair," he says. "I did a checkup and found nothing." A PET scan confirmed the results, and when Douwes checked her blood, her tumor cell count was zero. In a demonstration of the combined power of alternative medicine and low-dose chemotherapy and hyperthermia, her end-stage cancer was in complete remission after only five months of treatment. I remain convinced that all medical practitioners should learn and use the bioenergetic techniques that Kessler uses so successfully. These techniques have powers even beyond the astounding curative ones displayed in Myrna Brind's case. In fact, all degenerative processes can be seen early before they manifest themselves as cancer or heart disease or stroke. If Myrna had seen Kessler a year before her diagnosis, I believe she would never have come to the brink of death. Was her cure a miracle? No. This is the way alternative medicine is successfully practiced.

When I was diagnosed with Lung Cancer in January 2003 at the age of 33, I thought my entire world was ending. What had started out as a normal day ended anything but normal. My grandmom had just passed away, I was a single mom and my then 6-year old son was away on vacation with his father, and I was feeling stressed. While doing my daily treadmill workout, I developed some mild heart palpitations. I stopped exercising, but the palpitations didn't stop. By that evening, my boyfriend of one year determined that a trip to the emergency room was in order. We entered the hospital afraid there was a problem with my heart, but instead we walked out the door in the middle of the night knowing that there was a problem in my lung. A "spot" on an x-ray to be exact. An unknown spot. A CT Scan the following morning led to more questions and more waiting. One week and a CT Guided Needle Biopsy later, I had my answer. Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (Adenocarcenoma), most likely Stage I. How could this be? I had been a life long non-smoker - lung cancer was not in my vocabulary! Surgery was suggested and I set out to find the best surgeon in town. Once I found him, I clung to his every word. Surgery gave me the best chance for a total cure….I was young...I was in overall good health……and I had caught it early. He said he would remove the cancer and I would return to my normal life. The day before surgery, the Northeast was hit with a massive blizzard. Calling the hospital on the verge of hysterics, a kind staff member assured me that if I could make it, surgery would take place. At 4:00 a.m. the next morning, we shoveled our way out the front door to the car and traveled on snow-covered roads to make it to the hospital at my check-in time of 5:45 a.m. The last thing I recall before being put under is hearing the surgeon's voice as he walked in the room. In complete relief, I succumbed to the anesthesia. Surgery was difficult, but not as difficult as I imagined. I was up walking around the halls the day after surgery, and sent home on the 4th day. I was fortunate to have the help and support of family and friends during the days when the simple act of sitting up felt like a full time job! Meals were taken care of, my son was taken to school and my every need was attended to. I returned to the surgeon for my three week follow up, in good spirits, however, I was blindsided when I heard the following: "Your pathology report shows 5 mediastinal lymph nodes postive for cancer, which puts you at Stage IIIA. There is no proof that Chemotherapy at this point will increase your odds for survival. However, Stage I or Stage III, it doesn't matter, because I got it all." Those words echoed in my head. Did he get it all? Was follow up chemo useless, as he said? Was I doomed? A further review of my records before a panel of oncologist brought the recommendation of daily radiation, along with weekly chemotherapy together, for a period of 6 weeks. They felt that this was my best shot at a cure. The weekend before beginning my chemo/radiation regiment, my boyfriend proposed to me over a game of Scrabble, by spelling out "Marry Me" on the board. His timing could not have been more perfect and I floated through the first few days of radiation on Cloud 9. However, as I was hooked up to my first chemo IV later that week, the realization of what I was up against finally hit me. From that day forward, I couldn't look at my son without crying. I would sit on his bed at night, watching him sleep, as the tears flowed down my face. As I navigated my way through the unfamiliar territory of chemotherapy and radiation, each day began to feel worse than the next. The radiation treatment burned my esophagus and made it difficult to eat. The chemotherapy dehydrated me and I spent many afternoons hooked up to an IV receiving fluids. The nausea became constant and I had to admit that I could no longer work. Each day that passed brought me closer to feeling that the end was imminent. Fortunately, one night, while sitting on the edge of my son's bed, watching him sleep, instead of crying and sadness, a fierce feeling of determination came over me. I HAD to make it through this treatment and beat this monster into submission. This little boy needed me and I needed him! That was the turning point in my treatment and I muddled through the remaining weeks -- weak, dehydrated, nauseous and dizzy….but determined! Amazingly, treatment did finally end and I was thrilled to find that despite my original fears, my life did not! As the days passed, I began to have more good moments than bad and I slowly began to feel "human" again. Month by month the lingering side effects began to lessen and I had the realization that there were a few moments that I actually didn't think about cancer! My fiancé and I celebrated the one year anniversary of diagnoses by having a dream wedding onboard a cruise ship, surrounded by close family and friends. The months rolled by and I realized that while I was fortunate to have achieved remission, there are many thousands who do not. All of my research brought me to the conclusion that much more needs to be done to increase awareness and funding if we are ever going to bring change. My husband and I decided to tackle a benefit walk and the idea for "The First South Jersey Lung Cancer Walk/Run & Rally" was born. Our walk took place on November 6, 2004 on a beautiful, sunny Saturday morning, and raised $32,000 for lung cancer research. Planning this event was time consuming and often stressful, but worth every minute and I am so proud to have been a part of it! As I approach my second anniversary of diagnoses, I do so with cautious optimism, putting one foot in front of the other; taking care of my body to the best of my ability with nutrition and exercise; nurturing my spiritual side; and taking the time each day to laugh. It was a bumpy ride, but one I would gladly repeat again to have the same end result. I do not know where God plans to take me on this journey, but I wouldn't trade a moment of it. It has truly changed my life for the better and brought me a greater feeling of appreciation for all that I am blessed with.

Nature may hold next great cancer drug Scientists test thousands of extracts in search of treatment Sam Yu / The Frederick News-Post The Associated Press Updated: 11:28 a.m. ET Dec. 20, 2004FREDERICK, Md. - Somewhere within a vast, frozen storehouse of tree bark, fungi and marine creatures, a breakthrough cancer drug may be hiding. Cracking the code begins with crushing the samples kept in the National Cancer Institute’s repository on the grounds of Fort Detrick. Just one in 40,000 natural products yields an effective drug but scientists say the next Taxol — an anticancer agent derived from the bark of the Pacific yew tree — could be lurking in one of the repository’s 200,000 bar-coded extracts. “Pharmaceutical companies seem to be really interested in natural products as the source of new drugs, and nature really is the architect of these beautiful new molecules,” said Gordon M. Cragg, head of the agency’s Natural Products Branch. Cragg and David J. Newman, who heads the collection program, recently led reporters on a tour of the site. In the repository, bags of vegetable matter, marine mollusks and other organic materials from around the world are stored in 20 double-stacked, walk-in coolers at 4 degrees below zero. Secrets in organic matter The coolers also hold extracts made by grinding, soaking and dissolving such materials. That work is done in a nearby lab run by contractor Science Applications International Corp. Lab manager Thomas G. McCloud said the extracts, in 120-milliter glass bottles, contain a wealth of information. “These are not really bottles; these are library books,” he said. Reading their secrets is a laborious process. Each specimen yields two extracts — one water-based and one in an organic solvent such as oil. Each is tested against multiple kinds of cancer cells including leukemia, melanomas, and cancers of the lung, kidney, colon, central nervous system, ovaries, breast and prostate. Any extract that shows anticancer effects is separated into compounds that are then tested against the same cells in hopes of isolating the active ingredients. Active compounds are tested in laboratory animals, and may then move on to preclinical and clinical trials conducted by the NCI or drug companies. Each year, scientists test about 20,000 extracts, and 98 percent of them show no activity against cancer or AIDS, according to the cancer institute. Staggering costs The costs of creating a marketable drug from a natural product are staggering. The General Accounting Office reports that the National Institutes of Health spent $183 million over 20 years for research on Taxol, which was approved for sale by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. in 1992. The drug, used mainly against breast and ovarian cancers, is one of the best-selling cancer drugs in U.S. history. Taxol is one of seven plant-derived anticancer drugs that have received Food and Drug Administration approval for commercial production since 1960, when screening of natural products began. Two of the approved drugs are derived from a tree native to China, Camptotheca acuminata. They are topotecan, manufactured by Glaxo-SmithKline under the brand name Hycamptin and used to treat lung and ovarian cancer; and irinotecan, made by Pharmacia Corp. under the brand name Camptosar for use against colorectal cancer. Besides the search for anticancer agents, NCI began screening plants for anti-AIDS compounds in 1988. Five chemicals showing significant activity against AIDS have been isolated through that program and three are in preclinical development. They are calanolide A and calanolide B, isolated from trees found in Malaysia, and conocurovone, isolated from the saltbush shrub of western Australia. Marine organisms hold promise Screening of marine organisms began in 1975. That program has produced four anticancer candidates that are now in preclinical or clinical development. Their sources are a large sea slug from the Comoros Islands in the western Indian Ocean, a Caribbean sea squirt, a tiny moss animal called a bryozoan that was collected off the California coast, and a New Zealand sponge. Newman said marine environments hold huge promise for new medical discoveries. “The coral reefs are the rain forests of the ocean,” he said. “If you take one square meter of a coral reef, you have over 1,000 different species on that square meter. That does not take into account the cryptic organisms which only come out at night and, I might add, does not take into account the world’s greatest source of biodiversity, which is, in fact, the marine microbe.” Terrestrial microbial species — essentially fungi — are cultivated at the lab. Several agents isolated from those sources, mainly Streptomyces species, are in preclinical or clinical development for the treatment of cancer, the NCI said. © 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Some disease-fighting foods Blueberries - Their high antioxidant properties have moved the tiny fruit from muffin filler to health food favorite. Anthocyanin, the pigment which colors the berry, provides much of its benefits. Also a good source of vitamin C, which can protect against cell damage. Broccoli, cabbage, brussels sprouts Rich in cancer-fighting sulforaphane and indole-3-carbinol, antioxidants which can protect the body against cell-damaging free radicals. Green tea Antioxidants called catechins may reduce the size and number of cancer tumors, although large amounts of green tea are needed to be effective. The U.S. National Cancer Institute is funding a study looking at the the effects of drinking 10 to 15 cups of decaffeinated green tea in reversing pre-cancerous lesions in the lungs of former smokers. Flaxseed - A good source of omega-3 fatty acids, the nutty seeds are associated with lowering cholesterol and may reduce the risk of some cancers, researchers say. Soy beans and other soy-containing foods contain isoflavones which can lower cholesterol and are believed to lower digestive cancers such as colon and rectal. It is believed that women who eat a lot of soy may be less prone to breast cancer because of reduced estrogen, although research is inconclusive. The FDA is considering whether to allow foods containing soy protein to claim a reduced risk of certain cancers on product labels. Tomatoes A rich source of the antioxidant lycopene, which is believed to protect against prostate cancer as well as heart disease. Cooked tomatoes are actually a better source than raw because the process releases the lycopene from cells. Source: MSNBC; National Cancer Institute; American Institute for Cancer Research; Dartmouth Medical School • Print this

(((((Cheryl)))) Please know that I am thinking of you and praying with you through this unexpected development. You are tough as nails, my friend and you can do this! Zap those things and move on to that vaccine trial! Sending prayers, Heather

Lisa, I wanted to comment that I LOVE your enthusiasm and am so thrilled that you have signed on to man the "Alternative" forum! You are off to a great start -- keep up the good work!! Ry -- I also wanted to comment that you don't have to give up your pasta -- just switch to Whole Wheat Pasta -- "BioNaturae" makes the BEST whole wheat pasta I have found (I buy it at Whole Foods Market, but I know they also sell it in many "regular" food stores, just at a higher price) -- in fact, last night I made a whole wheat "penne pasta caesar salad" for dinner. YUMMY! Just to see what the packaging looks like, here's a link: https://secure.eyerstation.com/eintown/ ... egory=food

Fantastic news, Sandy! Have a wonderful holiday!

I am very saddened to see that my simple request for INFORMATION on the subject of harmful effects of cigarette odor (which I did find documented) have ended in the not-so-subtle suggestion that I need counseling by a therapist due to my perceived "obsession" with the subject. If you would have taken the time to read my post, you would have seen that my COWORKER was the one who voiced concern about her own health and asked me to research the subject for her, knowing my health history. I am at such a loss of words by this reaction. Thank you all for taking the time to respond.

Thanks for your responses. Here is some of the research I found on the subject: Smoking Odors There is no research in the medical literature about the cancer-causing effects of cigarette odors, but the literature shows that secondhand tobacco smoke can permeate the hair, clothing, and other surfaces. The unknown cancer causing effects would be minimal in comparison to direct secondhand smoke exposure, such as living in a household that has a smoker. Tobacco Odors Burning tobacco smoke creates had odors which also cling to people's clothes, hair, and even their skin. This contamination is so intense that when someone smokes in an air-conditioned room, the air-conditioning demands can jump as much as 600 percent in order to control the odors. The bad odors created by tobacco smoke also linger on. Long after a person has left a smoke-filled room, they may still have the odor of cigarettes on their bodies and in the fabric of their clothes. This is because while certain chemicals created by burning tobacco cause bad odors, other chemicals actually help the odors to hold onto the surface that they penetrate. Smokers themselves usually are not sensitive to these odors because of the destructive effects that the smoke from their own cigarettes has on the inner linings of the smoker's nose. Lastly…. As a smoker exhales, the smoke is diffused into the air. Look at the smoke curling off the end of the cigarette. It is called "side-stream" and is five times more poisonous than exhaled smoke. The "side-stream" smoke is what goes into your clothes, hair and skin. Anyone who can smell smoke from your clothes, hair or skin is inhaling carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sulfur, tar, nicotine, arsenic, cyanide, formaldehyde, phenol and over 2,000 other compounds and substances. Although you may smoke in your garage, car or anywhere else, when you pick the baby up and hold it close to you that baby is inhaling all the above substances. Anyone a smoker sits close to who can smell the smoke coming off the smoker's clothes is inhaling the above substances.

OK -- I hope this doesn't offend anyone, but I have a question about secondhand smoke and cigarette ODOR. Being a non-smoker, I'm not sure about something. I'll admit that I am very paranoid these days, and go out of my way to avoid restaurants that are smokey, never go to a bar, and won't even stand in a room with a smoker if I can avoid it. HOWEVER.....I have a new "neighbor" that sits next to me at work. She works part time, is very quiet and seems nice enough....and she's also a heavy smoker. She takes 2-3 smoke breaks in the time that she is here each day, and as she returns to her desk, I get the biggest whif of smoke ever.....and I smell it for the next 20 minutes or so. I've been mildly concerned about it, but assumed that if it wasn't smoke being near me directly, I wasn't in danger. Yesterday, the co-worker who sits on the other side of her, pulled me aside and voiced her concerns about her own health risk. We did a little research, and from what we can tell, it seems that if you can smell it (simply from being on her clothing)....you are inhailing harmful chemicals from it. Does anyone have any further knowledge into this subject? Would this fall into the category of harmful secondhand smoke? I'm sure we don't have a leg to stand on legally at work, since she is smoking outside, but I also don't want to put myself at risk by breathing in anything harmful on a daily basis! Man......it's always something.......

Thanks for sharing that article!

Here is a link to a previous post a while back on Iscador -- it references another study that was starting up in the Philadelphia area. http://lchelp.com/community/viewtopic.p ... ht=iscador

But what a great picture it is!!!

I am approacing the 2-year mark since surgery and I have had 3-month CT Scan's the entire two years. I had a scan this week, that was actually at the 4 month mark. I see my doc tomorrow, and have a feeling he is going to attempt to bump me to 6 month scans now.....but I will resist and stick with 4 months. I like being closely monitored.

That is such wonderful news! Now tell Dave to take it easy, and perhaps the holidays will give him a chance to recuperate a little!

Thanks for the great suggestions! I see my radiation oncologist tomorrow and my medical oncologist Thursday. My Radiation Onc. is an older Jewish man, so the Angel ornament idea is out, but I distinctly remember that he LOVED the homemade chocolate covered pretzels I gave him last year, so that may be worth repeating.....but my Medical Onc. (Dr. James Stevenson from Univ. of Penn) went above and beyond the call of duty by speaking at our NJ Lung Cancer Benefit, so I would like to get him something extra special. Any more suggestions -- keep them coming!

Congrats!!! FINALLY!!!!!! Don't forget -- if you are going to be painting, check out "Harmony" paint by Sherwin Williams -- doesn't have that stinky odor or the harmful chemicals that "regular" paint has! Wishing you the very best Holiday season in your brand spankin' new home!

I would like to add to the "Welcomes" and I agree wholeheartedly with what has already been said. This isn't any easy battle, by any means, but it IS one that can be fought and won. Your brother will need a support network that he can rely on, not only for positivity, but for helping him digest what is going on -- sometimes in a doctors appointment, two sets of ears are better than one (we hear what we want to hear at times.....). Take some time to learn this new cancer "lingo" and get him to an oncologist specializing in lung cancer, if you can. It sounds as though you will be a wonderful advocate for your brother -- come here often, it is a wonderful place for information and support! Heather

Report: States misspend anti-smoking cash Only three meet minimum, health coalition saysThe Associated PressUpdated: 7:54 a.m. ET Dec. 2, 2004 WASHINGTON - Only three states — Maine, Delaware and Mississippi — are spending money on anti-smoking efforts at the minimum levels recommended by federal health officials, a coalition of public health groups said Thursday. Altogether, the states have set aside $538 million for smoking prevention for fiscal 2005, which began in October and runs through September. That is just a third of the $1.6 billion minimum the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say should be spent nationwide, says the report. The CDC’s minimum funding recommendations for each state are based on population and other factors. The states are expected to receive an estimated $7.1 billion this year from the tobacco industry through legal settlements they reached with cigarette makers in the late 1990s, according to the report released by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, American Heart Association, American Cancer Society and American Lung Association. The settlements were meant to help the states recoup the cost of treating sick smokers, and the states pledged to fund tobacco prevention programs. Meanwhile, states in recent years have been raising cigarette taxes, and they are slated to get nearly $13 billion in tobacco tax revenues this year, the report says. “The states are receiving more and more revenue related to tobacco but doing far too little to fund programs to reduce tobacco use, particularly among children,” said Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. “They’re using the money to fill short-term budget shortfalls, build roads and every other conceivable political purpose.” States that have allocated no significant funding for tobacco prevention are: Michigan, Missouri, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Tennessee, the report said. The District of Columbia also has not set aside money for that purpose, the report stated. © 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Sandy ~ Thinking of you and praying for a whole lotta NOTHING!!!!! Hang in there! Heather

It's taken some time, but donations have finally stopped trickling in from our event and we were able to compute the "grand total" raised for lung cancer research through LUNGevity....... and the total is.......$32,000.00 !!!!! We are so thrilled and would like to thank Kathy ("Harn") and Gail for their hard work behind the scenes as well as all of the board members who participated and did such a great job at raising pledges!!! WE DID IT!!!

I know so many people that have written to The Today Show, Oprah, Good Morning America......no response. It's very disheartening. I think our best bet is to go with the local media and make it more of a "personal" story. I had success with the local newspapers (a South Jersey paper and a very local, 3 town paper) when promoting our walk. When we approached them, we sent a "story" in about my background, and I "used" the fact that I was a single mom at the time of diagnoses, that my boyfriend proposed the weekend before I started chemo.....that we celebrated the one-year anniversary of diagnoses by getting married. I figured, instead of just spouting off facts at them, I would "humanize" the story and grab them in with the personal "hook". It worked, because two papers called and then I had my chance to get the stats out there, during the interview. Unfortunately, I was so busy with the walk details, that I didn't have a lot of time to work on the television arena. I did send some e-mails but never really followed up or pressed the issue, which is breaking my heart now, because at least once a week, one of the tv news stations STILL does a breast cancer story........no mention of LC Awareness Month at all...

I offered up this original post as a way to keep those of us suffering from lung cancer up to date on the latest information out there that could possibly harm us in any way, by irritating our lungs, or putting us at greater risk. (As I spend most of my time doing research on ways to prevent a recurrence) I was not, in any way, "church bashing" or attempting to imply that going to church was bad. However, since this post seemed offend some, I offer up a different study, that should be found less offensive. http://www.lead.org.au/lanv7n4/L74-9.html Have a nice holiday.

I am very proud of myself today! I subscribe to Dr. Weil's e-newsletter and I have been dissapointed that they haven't had much focus on Lung Cancer this month (I don't know why I was surprised... ) Anyway -- I got the e-mail yesterday and saw that it said "This month's focus is DIABETES". Not that Diabetes is not an important issue, but I was like what the #*&%)@ -- this is OUR month!!! So I wrote a very nice e-mail to them, stating that November is LC Awareness Month, explained about our clear ribbon, due to our "invisible" status, and that we are so invisible, no one even knows this is LC Awareness Month!! I also asked that they do not simply focus on smoking, because I was a lifelong non-smoker who was diagnosed. I didn't hear anything back, but look what TODAY'S topic is: Simple Steps for Healthier Lungs Most people breathe about 20,000 times per day - more if they are exercising strenuously. November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month, a good time to stop taking your lungs for granted. Try the following: Avoid irritants. Pollution, bacteria, viruses, molds, chemical and gas fumes...all can aggravate your lungs. Use a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter at home to filter out irritants, especially if you have pets. Eat antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables. Apples, oranges and tomatoes can nourish the lungs, and the natural mix of carotenes in carrots, yellow squash and dark leafy greens may help protect against lung cancer. Exercise. Regular fitness strengthens breathing muscles and improves the respiratory system. If you have lung problems, talk with your physician about a fitness program. Do breathing exercises. Try taking slow, deep, regular breaths, and extend each exhalation to squeeze out more air. Stop smoking. Avoid second-hand smoke, too. Both can lead to lung problems and cancer. Clean out your lungs. Drinking pure water can help to rid your lungs of germs, irritants and toxins.