Alternative Medicine for Cancer
May 31, 2007I haven't been back to this site in months & am happy to see that i.ph has taken out the ads. In February, there was some type of Google robot that picked out blog keywords in order to display "matching" links of possible interest. For a while at least, there was this weird situation wherein the blogger was promoting caution in the choice of cancer management tracks in a panel beside links for Chinese herbs, colonics, and such.
When reading the word "alternative" with respect to cancer treatment, I assume that the writer sits on the side of Western medicine and its data-driven standards of care. "Alternative" is a substitute for the therapies I was trained to administer, not even "complementary" to my service. ("Complementary" seems to belong to another category altogether.) I know so little about alternative, complementary, natural-holistic, integrative or what-have-you that, in truth, I tend to give a blanket admonition against their use while on active Western-style systemic antineoplastics, or at least until I've read up on specific items. Paranoid? In truth, my drugs are toxic enough without the possibility of further interactions with unnamed components labelled as "miscellaneous"… and I have the same paranoia about Western-style medications with insufficient data on their use & side effects anyway.
Perhaps a serious look at China No. 1, mushrooms, mega-vitamins, etc is warranted on an international scale. At the moment I just say that patients can take their chances with poorly documented "medicines" when I have nothing else to offer.
Diagnosis = Cancer (How Does It Feel?)
February 14, 2007Recently, an old pal was diagnosed to have cancer as a direct result of routine screening. It soon developed that, in his panic, my every word took over his usual decision process. This probably had more to do with friendship and trust rather than my profession. Whatever, it made me nervous that he wouldn't even entertain referrals to other oncologists. Suboptimal! In my mind, I may have defensively screened myself off for more than just a bit in order to retain maximal objectivity, so much so that, in hindsight, I'd become needlessly stern. (more…)
Local Costs of Anti-Cancer Drugs
February 4, 2007A new comment on the post #44 "HER-2 Positive Early Stage Breast Cancer" is waiting for your approval.
…Welcome to the ____ Family! We invite you to visit us at www.____.com and find our great medicine prices. We provide serious and first class service to all our customers 24/7. If we don’t carry a medicine you need just let us know and we will be more than glad to assist you! To show you our gratitude for past purchases and to offer you one more reason to continue purchasing with ____.com We are offering a limited time 30% discount include on all our medicines. We will keep on giving you the best price and service in the market. Welcome and enjoy your visit to www.____.com
I found this in my mailbox, along with similar North American offers for drug purchase over the Net. Its interesting to note that the list price of many drugs is significantly less in the Philippines even when 30% discounts apply overseas. We're also spared the additional costs of airmail and taxes.
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Dietary Fat and Breast Cancer
January 25, 2007Women (who serve as an inspiration to us all as our mothers, sisters, partners, daughters, friends, & associates) are still hounded by a deadly disease. The big 2006 Breast Cancer meeting has just concluded, however, & a few interesting findings were reported, adding to our present understanding.
Notable among many others… The WINS Womens Intervention Nutrition Study interim analysis was reported & subsequently published in the JNCI. This was a low-fat dietary intervention trial conducted among women diagnosed with early breast cancer
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Triple-Negative Early Breast Cancer
December 15, 2006When a patient has a biopsy or definitive surgery for non-metastatic breast cancer, the tumor specimen itself is screened for receptors for estrogen, progesterone, and the growth factor effector called "Her2" (aka cErbB2). The results are predictive of response to a specific therapy type, thereby limiting guesswork among medical oncologists in their choice of drugs. The tests are also prognostic, ie, they hint at the the course and outcome of the disease. When these assays for estrogen and progesterone receptors as well as for Her2 yield insignificant levels, the breast tumor is designated "triple-negative". (more…)




